Recently, a Vermont man has been awarded a substantial compensation of $175,000 after an incident involving a state trooper.
Gregory Bombard had raised his middle finger at the trooper during a traffic stop in February 2018.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) reported that Bombard's First Amendment rights were found to have been violated, leading to a substantial settlement.
According to legal documents filed in 2021, Trooper Jay Riggen had initiated the traffic stop in St. Albans after alleging that Bombard had extended and displayed his left middle finger over the steering wheel.
Although Bombard denied the accusation, he was questioned for several minutes.
Following the encounter, Bombard expressed his frustration towards the trooper and displayed his middle finger while driving away.
This action prompted Trooper Riggen to pull Bombard over for a second time, leading to his arrest for disorderly conduct and the subsequent towing of his vehicle.
Bombard was then held at the Vermont State Police's St. Albans barracks for over an hour before being cited to criminal court. However, almost a year later, the criminal case against Bombard was dismissed.
In his lawsuit against Riggen and the state of Vermont, Bombard claimed that the initial stop violated his rights to be free from unreasonable seizure and false arrest.
He argued that his gesture of showing the middle finger was a form of protected free expression under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Article Thirteen of the Vermont Constitution.
After legal proceedings, the court awarded Bombard a settlement of $175,000, acknowledging the violation of his First Amendment rights during the 2018 incident.
The settlement includes $100,000 to cover damages and $75,000 for attorney fees.
Expressing his thoughts on the settlement, Bombard stated his hope that the Vermont State Police would train its troopers to avoid silencing criticism or making baseless car stops.
He also revealed that he plans to use some of the compensation to pay his criminal attorney for defending him against the charges and to treat his 88-year-old mother to a well-deserved dinner.
ACLU of Vermont's Staff Attorney, Hillary Rich, commented on the case, highlighting that incidents like this should never occur in the first place.
Rich stressed the significance of police treating everyone's First Amendment rights with respect, regardless of their offense or insult.
She also urged lawmakers to act to reduce unnecessary and unjustified encounters between the police and citizens by reexamining the power and visibility of law enforcement in communities.
