Flipping Off Cops Is Legal, Not Advised

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Flipping Off Cops Is Legal, Not Advised
By David Kravets, Wired 
March 2, 2010

Flipping the bird, or sticking out the middle finger, is perhaps the oldest insulting gesture on earth. The move dates back to ancient Greece and was adopted by the Romans as digitus impudicus – the impudent finger.

A zillion middle fingers later, an Oregon man is suing suburban Portland cops (.pdf) over his use of the gesture, claiming civil rights violations. Twice he flipped them off for no apparent reason while driving and was pulled over each time – resulting in what he said was a “bogus” traffic citation that was later dismissed, and a tongue lashing he still remembers.

“The guy flew into a road rage,” Robert Ekas, a retired Silicon Valley systems analyst, said in a telephone interview Tuesday.

Lawrence Wolf, a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, said there was no law against flipping off cops. And in most instances when it leads to an arrest or conviction, the charges are dismissed. But the gesture invites police confrontation, he said.

“It’s certainly not the smartest thing one can do,” Wolf said.

American University legal scholar Ira Robbins has written a definitive paper on flipping the bird: “Digitus Impudicus: The Middle Finger and the Law.” (.pdf)

“The pursuit of criminal sanctions for use of the middle finger infringes on First Amendment rights, violates fundamental principles of criminal justice, wastes valuable judicial resources, and defies good sense,” Robbins wrote.

In November, a Pittsburgh man was awarded $50,000 after he was wrongly cited for disorderly conduct after flipping off an officer.

Ekas, in both instances, flipped off officers while they were driving a Clackamas County patrol car. “It seemed like the right thing to do,” said the 46-year-old, who is seeking damages and police reform amid allegations he was unlawfully stopped. “The long and the short of it, I was pulled over because I gave them the finger.”

A federal judge will entertain Clackamas County’s motion on March 15 to have the civil rights lawsuit tossed. The county denies the allegations. (.pdf)

Ekas said his actions, which occurred with his teen-aged son in the car both times, were a form of protest against the agency he claims is abusing its citizenry. “That’s why they get the finger,” he said, noting he wants a jury trial.

Wolf, meanwhile, suggested if Ekas’ case makes it to trial, the officers are likely to testify that they were concerned “about his sanity.”

The jury, he said, is likely to say, “Give me a break” and then go home.