46-year-old Robert Ekas lives just outside Portland, Oregon, and he desperately wants you to exercise your First Amendment right to FLIP OFF COPS. No, really. Here's why . . .
--In 2007, Robert was driving down the road when he noticed a police officer in his rearview mirror. So he stuck his hand out the sunroof, and gave the cop the middle finger.
--At which point the officer pulled Robert over and cited him for making an illegal lane change, and for improper display of his license plates. Eventually, Robert was acquitted of the charges, but his run-ins with the police didn't end there.
--The next month, Robert flipped off another cop. And this time, he WASN’T issued a citation. But he WAS detained and, as he puts it, harassed and intimidated by two county police officers.
--Anyway, now Robert has taken things a step further by filing a lawsuit against the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office. He's seeking unspecified damages, and punishment for the officers who he claims violated his rights.
--Robert says, quote, "What I am expressing is the right to dissent . . . I did it because I have the right to do it. We all have that right, and we all need to test it. Otherwise we'll lose it."
--By the way . . . even if you don't agree with Robert, you should know that LEGALLY he is right.
--You actually ARE allowed under the First Amendment to give a cop the bird. And last year, a guy in Pittsburgh was awarded $50,000 after he was wrongly charged with disorderly conduct for flipping off a cop.
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