Is It Illegal To Flip Off A Cop in Maine?
Okay, sometimes we don't think before we do and this is one of those circumstances. Flipping anyone off is an insult and I don't think in any culture it is a term of endearment. But many people do it because they are unable to use their words.
In my opinion, these occurrences mostly take place when you're driving. If someone cuts you off, sometimes the fingers just fold in, leaving the middle straight up on its own.
But what if the person you are flipping off is a police officer? My mind automatically goes to hand cuffs and a striped jumpsuit if you flip off a cop, however, you are protected.
According to Car and Driver, a woman that was given a citation flipped off a cop while he was driving away.
The article says,
he pulled her over a second time before she could even make it 100 yards away, according to her original complaint filed in Detroit's U.S. District Court in April 2018. Minard upgraded the ticket to a moving violation and Cruise-Gulyas drove away again, this time without flipping off Minard. She later sued Minard, alleging violations of her First Amendment right to free speech and her Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search and seizure.
The cop should not of pulled her over a second time for giving him a finger or upgrading her ticket. The lady that was pulled over did not dispute the facts and stood by her freedom of speech.
The article goes on to say,
In essence, it was illegal for Minard to pull her over the second time because "fits of rudeness" aren't illegal or "grounds for a seizure," according to the opinion by circuit judge Jeffrey Sutton. A middle finger, no matter how obscene, qualifies as free speech.
There wasn't any other reason Minard pulled her over, as court documents confirm, which implies it was illegal to make the second traffic stop and detain her on the roadside. Hooray, fingers and freedom!
We have learned today ladies and gentle-dudes that it is in fact, legal to flip off a police officer due to our First Amendment rights.
But I would suggest not doing so, because we should live in a kind world.