New York Cop Who Pepper Sprayed Driver For Giving Him the Middle Finger Is Getting Fired

May 2015, Upstate New York State:
It seems that some police officers still do not either know or wish to follow the law they themselves SWORE to uphold when they became officers. This man was testing the police, to see if they would honor his 1st amendment right to free speech (confirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court) that "flipping them the bird" is a perfectly legal way to exercise free speech. Well, he was pulled over, he respectfully asked what he was being detained for (which he never received an answer from the LEO), and only asked to step out of the vehicle. When he repeatedly asked for the charge, the LEO then pepper sprayed him, in the face, and strong armed him out of the vehicle.

Full Story: New York Cop Who Pepper Sprayed Driver For Giving Him the Middle Finger Is Getting Fired


And, even though this was a setup/test, the LEO should know the law, and not take it into his own hands to do what he did. The local judge agreed, as well as the police chief, who is now seeking this LEO's termination.

a reply to: Krakatoa

What makes the LEO extremely stupid in this instance is that the initial SCOTUS ruling that made it completely legal, or rather recognized the inherent legality already in place, to flip off a cop stems from a traffic stop not terribly far from Saratoga so I find it incredibly hard to believe that either he or his department, was oblivious to this. The department is full of notorious pricks and I'm honestly surprised that the Chief fired him so quickly. Whatever the impetus, I'm glad it happened. It sets a good precedent for others to follow.

In a sane world, the cop would be decertified for his unlawful behavior. Plus whatever civil and criminal charges apply, hopefully with some revocation of his qualified immunity so the civil suits can dip into his personal belongings.

But at the very least, he ought to have his certificate pulled. Or what'll happen is, he just goes to the next town over and does the same thing.

a reply to: Krakatoa

He's getting fired? Fantastic.

Why is he not in jail?

Unless a police officers actions are upheld by the laws of the land, then those actions have the same weight as actions undertaken by private citizens, or put another way, police officers acting outside the bounds of their authority, should have no greater protection from the consequences of their actions, than a private citizen would.

Why they think they can be vigilantes is beyond me. If someone flips me off and I pepper sprayed them, I would be immediately arrested and charged with assault. Why can't LEO's get this through their head?

Oh, I just remembered why......too many of them are not reigned in, reprimanded, fired or charged with criminal activity or convicted. What was I thinking? /sarcasm

lol, I flipped the bird at a unmarked cop car once, after I pulled into his lane and he beeped at me. Guess he thought I cut him off and obviously I disagreed.

The dude then flashed his sirens and pulled me over and was not happy to say the least... In fact, I'd actually go so far as to say he was acting hysterical. I tried explaining to him that I obviously was unaware he was the police and that he was over reacting, but that just seemed to make him even angrier.

Some people just treat life way to seriously.... lol.

originally posted by: Subaeruginosa
lol, I flipped the bird at a unmarked cop car once, after I pulled into his lane and he beeped at me. Guess he thought I cut him off and obviously I disagreed.

The dude then flashed his sirens and pulled me over and was not happy to say the least... In fact, I'd actually go so far as to say he was acting hysterical. I tried explaining to him that I obviously was unaware he was the police and that he was over reacting, but that just seemed to make him even angrier.

Some people just treat life way to seriously.... lol.

Some people just think they're too damn important.

originally posted by: TrueBrit
...police officers acting outside the bounds of their authority, should have no greater protection from the consequences of their actions, than a private citizen would.

Ah, but it's a US meme that if the cop resigns before the investigation is concluded, or is fired without an investigation, that it's suddenly "ollie outs in free" and he gets to walk with his freedom, personal worth, and certificate intact.

a reply to: Krakatoa



This is a bit extreme, but one those videos that pops into your head periodically.

The Ultimate Driving Machine
Equalizer Model

I believe hunting police for sport should be a rite of passage for Americans at this point, and I applaud this as a legal and effective means of doing so.
Nothing will change until it's too dangerous not to be a good cop.

a reply to: Krakatoa

It's great to see so many people in the US learning their rights.
Over the last month I've seen videos of cops telling people to stop recording them and the person filming instantly starts stating their legal rights to do so. Perhaps not surprisingly, the cop then shuts up, either knowing they were wrong or not able to argue with it.

I've seen people on Twitter sharing images detailing their rights and what they should do when encountering any police officer for any reason.

I must have read at least three articles relating to Sandra Bland over the last week where the rights of the citizen are clearly stated, and repeated again by people commenting on it.

I do worry that this might lead to more problems as the more pigheaded cops (no pun intended) start to become more frustrated with the people they're encountering, but ultimately this is what happens when a government (local or otherwise) consistently fails to regulate the police properly.

Things are going to get increasingly difficult for the cops until something is done to start holding all police accountable nationally for the way they behave.

a reply to: Krakatoa

I agree that police 'should' uphold and be good examples of following the laws. But we all are aware that many officers fall very short in these areas.

Also law enforcement personnel (as well as all of us in our work spaces) should learn and practice anger mangement skills. So much of what we see these days from some police officers is simple anger acted out on whoever is handy. Many times the unnecsarrily agressive behavoir is egged on by other members of the profession.

Anger management is an important life skill to have and as adults we need to be able to act without being overtaken by anger whatever the trigger - current or ongoing. I'd like to see all law enforcement (military too) have ongoing anger management classes as part of their continuing education requirements.

Wait - do law enforcement agencies even require continuing education?

I gave a cop the finger recently because he drifted into my lane (he was oncoming traffic). Once he got close I realized he was texting or something of the sorts on his cell phone, didn't even notice me flip him off.... just swerved back into his lane.