Posted on 02/21/2022 6:00:40 AM PST by Leaning Right
The sheriff's deputies are also not entitled to qualified immunity because the First Amendment right to offend police has been repeatedly upheld.
*snip*
They eventually arrested Wood and charged him with disorderly conduct and obstruction. Prosecutors later dismissed both charges. Wood filed a civil rights lawsuit against all six sheriff's deputies, alleging false arrest and violations of his First Amendment rights.
The deputies argued that Wood's arrest was lawful under the "fighting words" doctrine established by the Supreme Court's 1942 ruling in Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire. That doctrine still lives on, but its application has been significantly limited over the decades.
(Excerpt) Read more at reason.com ...
Maybe he was just a fan of NWA?
So, they arrested him for resisting an unlawful arrest.
I do not agree with how the guy presented his message but i agree the cops were wrong. Free speech is free speech.
When we start letting nebulous intent like “fighting words” become a reason for arrest ask yourself. Who gets to define fighting words?
If it is not a direct threat the deference needs to be given to the individual, not the thuggish law enforcement agents, they will always be a hammer to a screw, all they know is overt force, it is how they are designed.
If police get a 911 call to remove someone from a public event due to a swear word on a shirt, the subject had better be doing something actually illegal as well. If I respond to that call and the only issue is a shirt, I’m not taking any enforcement action whatsoever.
> If it is not a direct threat the deference needs to be given to the individual... <
Right. Awhile back there was a state legislator (from Virginia?) who argued that criticizing a public official should be illegal because such criticism might possibly motivate someone to harm the public official.
No direct threat. Just a might possibly.
So let me get this straight. Okay, yes vulgar shirt but ..... A tee shirt says F the Police and SIX big tough LE arrest the person wearing it. Maybe if LE acted like they protect the citizens and not Jack Boot them like in Canada, nasty scarry tee shirts will go away. Thin skinned thugs.
They should just claim they are facebook, twitter or youtube fact checkers.
Regards,
I have not gone to the website but I hope all six deputies are now unemployed. The victim of police abuse will now win the lottery in his civil suit. Too bad for the county, but their fault for who they hired.
> Too bad for the county, but their fault for who they hired. <
The deputies have lost their qualified immunity. So if I’m reading the story right, they will have to pay the damages out of their own pockets.
Interesting case. If the or one of the SIX called the sitrep in to their supervisor, and super said arrest him, the SIX could be remain protected, but the super, not! Arguable, of course.
He didn’t get arrested for his shirt he got arrested for his mouth.
Say he came up to you and your family at the fair and started calling you the things he was shouting at the Police
I guess you would just have to take it, or leave.
> He didn’t get arrested for his shirt he got arrested for his mouth. <
The cops showed up in the first place because of the shirt. When they realized it was just a shirt, they should have left.
But you do make a fair point about the guy’s abusive language. In my opinion, such language directed against a citizen would be disorderly conduct. But it was directed against government officials (the cops). So here the 1A must assert itself.
If abusive language against the cops can be disorderly conduct, then “Lets go Brandon!” can be disorderly conduct. It’s a slippery slope.
If the cops can’t manage their precious feelings when they get insulted then they need to find another job.
The recording of the police radio proved the man was solely arrested for the shirt.
I don’t know why so many people feel compelled to state their feelings with strings profanity
He could have just had a shirt on that said police are Fascist thugs.
And when they inappropriately told him to leave he should have just left.
And the cops? They had no business arresting the man. They were basically proving what he said to be correct.
“A win for the First Amendment, I guess. But the guy sure had a foul mouth as well as a vulgar shirt.”
Good thing he hadn’t yet seen the Royal Canadian Mounted Police trampling folks to death on horseback, he would have really been pissed.
Example 2: Joe Civilian vs Officer 1, individually, severaly , collectively and in his/her offical capacity, etc.
The losing of implied immunity will cost the government agency who signs the paychecks. Depending if there are any union contract addressing circumstances like this, will determine if the thugs with badges will have to empty their wallets.
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