# Man Flips Off Cops, Wins 15K



## MJS (Feb 25, 2013)

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/201...-15k-settlement-from-city?utm_source=outbrain



> MANHATTAN  The man who fought for his right to flip the bird now has some cash in  his hands.
> Robert Bell, 26, won a $15,000 settlement from the city  Tuesday after he sued, arguing that his First Amendment rights were violated when Greenwich Village  cops arrested him in 2011 for flipping off a group of officers, federal court  records show.
> Bell, an information technology recruiter who said he'll use the settlement  funds to pay for law school, said he felt vindicated by the decision and that  he'll give the NYPD the middle-finger salute again.
> "If I thought [an officer] was in the wrong for something, I would do it," he  said. "I would just ensure that I prefaced any criticism with 'With all due  respect.'"
> ...




So, for all the LEOs we have here, what are your thoughts?  Of course this is open to everyone as well.  Personally, I think the guy was clearly a dick.  Akin to an 'ambulance chaser', I think this guy was hoping that he could roll the dice, and get some quick cash.  Sadly, thats what happened.  OTOH, I'm sure these NY Officers have had worse happen to them, so while I'm certainly not giving the OK to what this jackass did, IMO, I think they'd have been better off ignoring it.


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## crushing (Feb 25, 2013)

I agree this guy is probably a dick.  He likely doesn't like cops because he thinks they are too authoritarian.  The cops obliged in helping him prove his point.


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## Drasken (Feb 25, 2013)

I don't believe a cop should be legally able to arrest you for flipping them off. However this is a stupid move because if a cop really wanted to they can find SOMETHING to arrest you for. And with that being said, flipping someone off or verbally telling them f@#k you is bordering very dangerously on verbal assault I believe.


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## ballen0351 (Feb 25, 2013)

I think its funny he waited until they passed and tried to do it behind their backs and got caught.  Real brave guy.  I personally wouldn't have waisted my time.  I'd have called him a d bag and walked on about my day.


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## Drasken (Feb 25, 2013)

ballen0351 said:


> I think its funny he waited until they passed and tried to do it behind their backs and got caught.  Real brave guy.  I personally wouldn't have waisted my time.  I'd have called him a d bag and walked on about my day.



That seems like the more intelligent thing to do. Most cops I know would have told him to stop acting like a child and walked off.


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## Instructor (Feb 25, 2013)

I see flaws on both sides here.  He should not have been arrested for being an ***.  He should also not have been awarded anything for being an ***.  I know if I were a cop and you flip me the bird it might be time to give you as a person a closer look.


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## jks9199 (Feb 25, 2013)

Can an attitude like that be read as an invitation for some special attention?  Sure.  Should it lead to an arrest without further behavior?  No.  I sure wouldn't arrest some for a gesture like that alone -- in fact, Virginia rulings pretty much say that cops don't have the right to be offended by speech or actions like that, even if they would otherwise constitute a violation of our "curse and abuse" statute.  

I don't like that the cop charged him, then didn't show for trial.  Kinda puts a huge hole in the defense for the city.  But the civil case here was almost certainly fishing for a settlement, not a matter of principle or anything similarly altruistic.  (If it was -- the money would go to a legal aid fund, the ACLU, or some-such, not the plaintiff's desire to attend law school...)  I don't know if he complained on the cop through the administrative channels... which would also be telling about that lawsuit.

With all that -- I don't think the city should have settled.  Yes, it's cheaper and "makes it go away."  But that sort of thing ends up looking too much like an admission of culpability.  And if the cop reasonably believed he was acting within the law (and I'd say he did if the desk sergeant carried it forward), he's probably personally protected by good faith.


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## ballen0351 (Feb 25, 2013)

Maryland laws is the same way.  You can't disturb the peace of a police officer.  You can act a fool as loud and nasty as you want in front of a cop as long as nobody else is around to witness it.


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## arnisador (Mar 1, 2013)

crushing said:


> I agree this guy is probably a dick.  He likely doesn't like cops because he thinks they are too authoritarian.  The cops obliged in helping him prove his point.



Yup.


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## OzPaul (Mar 3, 2013)

Being given the finger by someone is generally one of the nicer things the public say or do to me each day...  I would of smiled, tell him to pull his head in then gone about whatever it is i was doing


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