Shane Boor, a 35-year-old Colorado man, was heading to work last April when he passed a trooper on the side of the road issuing a traffic ticket. As he passed, he extended his middle finger in the trooper’s direction.
The trooper went to great lengths to catch him. Accordingly to Boor, the State Patrol were using an airplane for speed enforcement. The officer had the plane followed Boor to his work site and, then, another trooper showed up with the harassment summons.
Boor admitted to flipping the bird stating “I just wanted to make sure that he knew how I felt about what he was doing” and “I thought that I had expressed that.”
The American Civil Liberties Union got involved arguing that, although impolite, Mr. Boor’s gesture amounted to peaceful and symbolic expression of protected free speech. The Colorado State Patrol acknowledged that “giving the finger” is not criminal harassment and has since dropped the criminal case against Mr. Boor.
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i am sick and tired of all these regulations that you and your lawyer colleagues are advocating because it means more business for your office. New York is nothing more than a regulated institution for the less fortunate while Cuomo and the rest of you can commit all kinds of nonsense in and out of the house. Change the laws for every one but yourselves. This is suppose to be a free country but where is the freedom. New York is now nothing more than a Bum State. This is a Police State. Cops do everything bad and get away with. They murder African Americans and get away with it. White cops murder African American cops and get away with it. They rape women and get away with it. Where is the law for these criminals? Why don’t you comment on these things? Why does not Cuomo comment on these things and pass stringent laws for these murderers?
Ron,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. This blog focuses primarily on vehicle and traffic law issues so some of thoughts ideas are beyond its scope.