In a recent editorial, your dog said in part, “But police also have the right to protect themselves from undue verbal abuse. ”
If you speaking from a manners point of view, you are correct. BUT according to the Constitution ie… law of the land, you are ABSOLUTELY incorrect! Cops are to be professionals and be able to HANDLE verbal abuse – if they can’t – they should get OUT OF THE KITCHEN. The man in question was obviously frustrated after traveling and now having to break into his own house. The cop, while understandable came to question, should have been more understanding once he came to realize what was going on.
Here is case law to document as well as a recent newspaper article which says it’s legal to flip off a cop!
Check out this case law quotes:
Although the preservation of liberty depends in part upon the maintenance of social order, the First Amendment requires that officers and municipalities respond with restraint in the face of verbal challenges to police action, since a certain amount of expressive disorder is inevitable in a society committed to individual freedom and must be protected if that freedom would survive. Pp. 471-472.
“a properly trained officer may reasonably be expected to ‘exercise a higher degree of restraint’ than the average citizen, and thus be less likely to respond belligerently to ‘fighting words.'”
The freedom of individuals verbally to oppose or challenge police action without thereby risking arrest is one of the principal characteristics by which we distinguish a free nation from a police state.
