By Sheena Vasani, Tue, March 1,
2016
A North Carolina Sheriff’s Deputy
was fired after a camera caught him flashing the middle finger at a driver Feb.
26.
Van Anthony, 52, gave the rude
gesture to civilian driver Scott Lipe, who was filming Anthony from another car
after catching him speeding, Fox News reports.
"I could see him coming up
in the rear view mirror, and I was like, 'This car is flying.' So my phone was
sitting beside me in the seat," Lipe said, WLOS reports.
The driver explained after he
pulled out his camera, the officer waved and gave him the finger.
"He's a deputy. He's in a
patrol car in a uniform with a badge, and there's people all over the place.
And he's just waving his finger around like he doesn't care," Lipe said.
"I mean if you look at the picture, he's just smiling and having a good
time."
The sheriff later apologized to
Lipe and, after being their employee for nearly two years, was fired by Jackson
County Sheriff's Office.
"They hold us accountable,
and sometimes they have to be held accountable," Lipe explained.
Indeed, there have been many
instances where civilians have gotten into trouble with law enforcement for
holding up the same gesture.
William Martin received a
disorderly conduct summons after flipping off an aggressive driver who turned
out to be a police officer, the Bergendis Patch reports.
“When I received a summons, I
felt that my free speech rights were under attack for nothing more than
expressing my frustration with someone whose driving had put people at risk,”
Martin said.
The ACLU agreed and defended
Martin, whose charges were later dismissed. ACLU-NJ Deputy Legal Director
Jeanne LoCicero, Martin’s representative, said:
Enforcing manners rather than
public safety is a poor use of police resources. Our client expressed his frustration using a
peaceful, silent gesture that is protected by the First Amendment. In this
case, an officer chose to initiate and escalate an encounter instead of just
ignoring it. It might be rude to flip off a police officer, but it isn’t a
crime.”
Martin was grateful when the
charges against him were dismissed.
“I’m relieved to know that the
town of New Milford recognized it wasn’t worth prosecuting me for expressing my
frustration,” he explained.
Sources: Fox News, WLOS,
Bergendis Patch / Photo credit: Office of the Sheriff Jackson County
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