Flipping Off a Cop is LEGAL

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.”

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/201...l-not-advised/

It might be legal, but I would not do it. It's just antagonizing a bull. They will just pull you over and make up what they want if they get mad enough. That makes me nervous. I am not foolish.

I hope they nail the idiot. I don't care if you think you are the best thing since Jesus - do not flip anyone off unless you're okay with going to the nearest hospital or morgue. You flip a cop, get ready for a ticket. You flip a random driver, get ready to get your head beaten in with a tire iron. Like this is the most juvenile thing I've... idiot.

Having been a law enforcement officer for four years I have to comment from the officer's point of view.
By way of a quick background I come from a military family where rules and law will be respected without question. It was totally unacceptable to disrespect legal authority of any kind.

From an officer's point of view they are sworn to and expected to enforce the laws of the land. Unfortunately there are those in our society who have not been taught respect or choose to not be respectful. There are some places that classify "giving the finger" in public a lewd and lascivious act which is punishable by either a stiff fine or jail time or both depending the seriousness of the offense.

To be honest, flipping off anyone you don’t know is not a wise decision; especially in this day and age.

Literally, all it takes to create a bloodbath is to incite anger in the wrong person and it doesn’t necessarily have to be a police officer.

But what people fail to grasp is that police officers are human and there is a percentage of police officers that will break the law they are sworn to uphold, at the drop of a dime.

Flipping off is never a good idea even if not to police officer. It's very offensive plus the chances of you getting some anger management classes is high. Try to keep it cool though.

I haven't flipped anyone off in awhile. As far as flipping off a cop is concerned, why mimic something with my digits that I can just say out loud?

I would never flip off a police officer or anyone else because I think its very offensive and some people take it very personal when you flip them off. Something minor could lead to a senseless altercation because of the middle finger.

That's kind of rude to randomly just flip off a police officer, but I do understand that his reasons for doing so. Even if I was angry at a cop, I wouldn't give them the middle finger just because of the hassle that it would cause me. We do have the right to express ourselves, but I don't really think the guy was smart to do so in the manner that he did.

If you do so, video it and upload to youtube.