WCAX-TV reports that in 2018, Gregory Bombard was “pulled over…for allegedly giving Trooper Jay Riggen the middle finger.” Though Bombard denied it at the time, in a lawsuit filed by the ACLU, Bombard later admitted to cursing and flipping the ird. Trooper Riggen arrested him and charged him with disorderly conduct. That charged was dropped in 2019.
Gregory and the ACLU decided to bring a lawsuit claiming that Bombard’s “rights to be free from unreasonable seizure and false arrest” were violated, and “that giving the middle finger” is “free expression protected by the First Amendment.”
Yesterday the VT State Police agreed to a settlement where Gregory receives a $100K payout, along with another $75K for legal fees.
Gregory said “With this settlement, I hope the Vermont State Police will train its troopers to avoid silencing criticism or making baseless car stops. 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.”