she get incited for a disorderly conduct obscene G1 $20 fine Josh Smith just wanted some fast food from humdingers but instead he ended up with a ticket from the police for saying this out the way and this walking Road said nobody can get through the drivethru for a half an hour what your name is can't be going around flipping people off at people and that's why you're getting a citation yeah yeah a citation I'll beat it when I go to court okay that's that's why you're getting a ticket keep your mouth shut please didn't he have the right to criticize the police and to use obscenities when he did it so what happened when he went to court let's go through [Music] it this occurred back in October in montro Colorado this happened in the parking lot of a fast food joint called humdingers Josh Smith is a regular there but when he pulled in that afternoon there were three Montrose police vehicles that were blocking the path to the drive through window officer stopped an SUV that had been rented months earlier from Herz rental car company but apparently never returned open the door from the outside slowly anybody else in the vehicle step out of the vehicle now walk backwards she thought he bought more time with the rental company oh okay they arrested the two people who were driving the car and they were in the process of sorting through potential evidence in the vehicle but as body cam footage shows they were actually goofing off because they found a sex toy in the vehicle I'm so sorry one of the officers then using the apparent suction cup feature stuck it to the outside of this car there was some really important police work going on here obviously we wouldn't want anyone who's just hungry or trying to get fast food to interfere with this important business so when when Smith pulls up he finds this drive-thru blocked and so he yells at his window expressing that he wanted them to get out of the way [ __ ] out way dick move your [ __ ] out the way [ __ ] there a nothing else though he just looked got this black car right here no it was a silver car that's in the that went through the drive moments later one of the officers again doing very important work decided that he had time to stop doing that work and walk all the way over to the spot where Smith was trying to order his food at the drive through quit yelling are you're going to get a citation understood the lights are there that means don't go by them right [ __ ] out of way I'm ordering my quiet order your food listing are you one of those trenders in the combo or just by themselves Colorado 564 x-ray ocean but that wasn't the end of it because when Smith got to the drive-thru window a Humdinger worker told him that he was the first customer in a half an hour she thought that the drive-thru Lane had been closed off by the police so after picking up his order Smith pulled around the building he was yelling out his window as he drove towards an officer who then began to walk towards him he then expressed his criticism that they were blocking this business's drive-thru completely unnecessarily for the past half an hour what what's the problem start blocking Road they said nobody can get through the drivethru for a half an hour so what's your name man okay that officer then conferred with a sergeant who decided that Smith had broken the law so he climbed into his police cruiser and he headed off in pursuit of Smith stopping him about a mile away as he approached Smith's vehicle this is what was said you're going to get a citation I need your driver's license for what can't be flipping people off oh yeah that's to identify yourself no I'm not okay any weapons in there go Bud thank you hang tight buddy that's why you're getting a ticket a short time later the sergeant returned with a ticket for disorderly conduct for making an obscene gesture all Mr Smith there's your driver's license back can I get a phone number for you didn't hear you so you get incited for disorderly conduct OB seen Gest it's $120 fine you have a court date of November 28th 2024 at Mont Municipal Court if you don't wish to pay the fine you want to plead not guilty if you do want to pay to F is $120 fine pay it before that November 28th date okay uh information on the back of the citation on how to do that you just sign on the X and you'll take care of it beforehand or do it um on that for day I can't hear you I'm sorry got siging anything okay refusing to sign can't be going around flipping people off yelling at people you're a dumb and that's why you're getting a citation yeah yeah a citation I'll beat it when I go to court that's what was [ __ ] time okay now don't take your uh sad inhibition own life out on somebody else okay shut the [ __ ] up have a wonderful day sergeant English that's why you're getting a ticket keep your mouth shut please and according to monro's Municipal Code a person can commit disorderly conduct in multiple ways including by making an obscene gesture to another person in a public place in a manner likely to provoke a violent or disorderly response hm just setting First Amendment issues aside what is that officer saying about himself to write somebody a ticket for making an obscene gesture that was likely to provoke a violent or disorderly response from police officers but remember the word obscenity is a term of art obscenities are generally not protected under the First Amendment but obscenity is not the same thing as profanity think more sexual in nature I'm so sorry generally we do have a constitutional right a First Amendment right to use profanity in our Communications with police officers now there are limits to that we can't do so in a way that somehow actually physically interferes with what they're doing but just in our daily interactions with police officers such as they were used in this video and many other videos that I've done an obscene gesture as defined under First Amendment law again is going to be something probably sexual in nature not just a bad word there can be little doubt that Mr Smith here was engaging in your basic First Amendment profanity with the police which is protected speech so that charge was clearly problematic because offend ing or disturbing the police is not a crime it's protected Free Speech then ever busy protecting the citizens of Montrose on November 7th montrose's City attorney amended that charge by dismissing the allegation of disorderly conduct and then accusing Smith of interference with an officer writing in a court motion that the change accurately reflects the evidence to be presented at trial their city ordinance defines interfering with an officer as using or threatening to use violence force or physical interference or obstacle to obstruct impair or hinder the enforcement of the law or preservation of the Peace by a peace officer well he didn't use violence he didn't threaten to use violence there was no physical interference how did that City attorney even write that with a straight face when it went to court he won because he had to but the judge who dismissed it said that he was immature offensive and unnecessary but that he had a protected First Amendment right to say the things that he said amant's man fought the law and today he won this all stemmed from an incident last October where police had ticketed a man for swearing at them this morning a judge dismissed the case after concluding what the man said was constitutionally protected freedom of speech Wednesday morning the judge called Smith's Behavior immature offensive and unnecessary but also said it was free speech protected by the First Amendment bottom botom line the interference charge was unconstitutional as applied in this case based on these facts I pretty much knew that we would win I just didn't I thought it would be like it I thought it was going to actually have to go to trial that trial had been set for next week in montro Municipal Court the question now is whether Smith will sue the city in federal court so the charges were dismissed but is it even necessary for a judge to call us immature or offensive or tell us what is unnecessary if we have a First Amendment right to criticize our government that's up to us whether or not it's necessary and that's up to us how hyperbolic we want to be this is about much more than maturity or offensiveness or something being unnecessary this is about police officers who have taken an oath to uphold the Constitution being caught violating that oath over something so trivial they tried to retaliate against a citizen for engaging in protected speech and if they do that there what else have they done what else will they do I would argue at that point they can no longer be trusted to follow the constitution in the future the fact is is that cops think it's okay to do this across the country and then well-meaning useful idiots will just say F around and find out yeah we know if we're being rational that we should not flip off the cops we know that we should not criticize ize them in any way because F around find out even though we have a constitutional right to do so if we're being rational we know not to do it do you not see the problem with that but for certain people like Mr Smith or other people that fill videos on YouTube we wouldn't know about these police officers who are willing to break their Oaths it's not about fast food it's not about feelings it's much more serious because these things are always a slippery slope the same people that say f find out in these situations are going to be the ones demanding answers in the more serious situations the ones they care about and if you care about issues like these holding the government accountable for small and large civil rights violations then please follow along subscribe both here and at the blog at the Civil Rights lawyer.com you can also follow me on Twitter at John Brian Esq remember our rights don't end where your fear begins freedom is scary deal with it [Music]