Poll:
Profane gestures a protected 'free speech'?
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Is "flipping the bird" protected by the U.S. Constitution if the flipper claims to be protesting police and the flippee is a police officer?
Robert Ekas of Clackamas thinks so.
Ekas flew the finger at Sheriff's Deputy Marcus Wold in July 2007 as he got onto I-205. Wold saw the gesture and Ekas was pulled over. There was an exchange of information - and Ekas was slapped with two citations, including the improper display of his license plates and an illegal lane change.
Ekas fought the tickets and explained his side to a Clackamas County judge. Wold's citations were dismissed and Ekas walked.
His lawsuit lays out all these details and more, vividly described for the U.S. District Court for Oregon and available here.
Ekas believes he can flash the finger at police because his gesture is an act of protest against police heavy-handedness and "abuses of power." About a month after he got off the first finger, he flipped the bird at another sheriff's deputy, Steve Shelley.
Shelley reacted much the same as Deputy Wold, pulling Ekas over, except this time no "false citations" were issued by authorities, according to the civil suit. Shelley detained Ekas, instead.
So doing, Ekas concluded that the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office had violated his federally-protected rights. Ekas v. Clackamas Sheriff's cites three Constitutional amendments broken by the sheriff's office, including his Free Speech and due process protections.
Threatening Ekas with jail or false charges - for flying the high-and-lonesome middle index - also violated the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable search and seizure, according to the suit.
The case was on the civil docket for Honorable United States Magistrate John V. Acosta in his downtown Portland chambers on Monday. Magistrate Acosta already has ordered video surveillance from the second stop and requires in-person testimony for all parties.
Ekas paid $350 to bring charges of "malicious prosecution." He seeks an unspecified amount of money from the office for suffering and loss of liberty, among the other federal charges.
A jury trial was requested by the Sheriff's Office, which has two weeks to defend the actions of its force against the flagrant finger flipper. More: U.S. Bill of Rights
