A Vermont man who sued, saying his First Amendment rights were violated when he was arrested for giving the middle finger at a state trooper, reached a $1750,000 settlement.
Gregory Bombard ended the lawsuit against the state of Vermont and the Vermont State Police trooper on Wednesday, giving $100,000 to Bombard and $75,000 in legal fees, according to the ACLU and Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which represented Bombard.
Vermont State Police trooper Jay Riggen stopped Bombard in February 2018 because he believed the driver had “extended and displayed his left middle finger over his steering wheel” and “understood to be a negative gesture” directed at him, according to the 2021 complaint.
Bombard denied making the gesture and was free to go, the officer told him. But when the driver pulled away, he uttered something along the lines of “a**hole” and “f*** you,” and flipped his middle finger. Bombard was pulled over again and arrested for disorderly conduct.
He was held in jail for over an hour, where he was fingerprinted and had a mugshot taken.
Bombard sued for “unconstitutional and retaliatory seizures,” claiming violations of the First and Fourth Amendments.
The defendants did not admit any guilt, according to the settlement agreement.
Bombard said he hoped his suit would bring more change to the police department’s policies.
“With this settlement, I hope the Vermont State Police will train its troopers to avoid silencing criticism or making baseless car stops,” he said in a statement. “And at least now I can pay my criminal attorney for defending me from the bogus charges and take my 88-year-old mother out for a nice dinner.”
The result of the case is bittersweet, Hillary Rich, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Vermont, said in a statement.
“While our client is pleased with this outcome, this incident should never have happened in the first place. Police need to respect everyone’s First Amendment rights—even for things they consider offensive or insulting,” Rich said.
The Vermont State Police toldThe Independent that Riggen retired from the department on May 31, but offered no comment on the settlement.
