A Los Angeles man walking down the boardwalk in Venice Beach while video recording ended up in handcuffs after telling a cop “fuck you,” one day after our nation celebrated Independence Day.
Some people may say Ricky Munday brought it upon himself by yelling out obscenities while walking down the boardwalk, but the video shows he only ended up handcuffed after directing his obscenities towards the officer.
And while police may not like it, that is protected by the First Amendment.
Munday: “Put your beers away, put out your cigarettes, put out your weed. Here comes the motherfucking police.”
Cop: “You actually need to watch your language, sir.”
Munday: “Watch my language? Man, fuck you.”
Cop: “Put your hands behind your back.”
Munday: “Fuck you!”
Munday tells PINAC he was detained for four hours before he was released on a charge of disturbing the peace.
He said the cop turned off his phone after handcuffing him, then told his supervisor that a family had complained about him yelling obscenities in front of their children.
“My argument was where’s the complaining party? He said they left.” Munday said.
Numerous court cases over the past few years have ruled that the First Amendment protects profanity against police, most recently in the Washington Supreme Court.
According to the Washington Supreme Court opinion:
The free speech provision of the First Amendment4 stands as a guardian protecting citizens against criminal prosecution when exercising their constitutional right to speak, to witness and engage in the political process, and to criticize certain governmental activities. Historically, First Amendment values have occupied a crucial place in shaping our democracy.
Cases have consistently and strongly held that people cannot be held liable when exercising their right to speak. While E.J.J. ‘s words may have been disrespectful, discourteous, and annoying, they are nonetheless constitutionally protected.
Last month, we reported that Peaceful Streets founder Antonio Buehler was headed to trial for an arrest where he told the cop to “go fuck yourself.”
But the jury ended up deadlocked, forcing a mistrial, leaving the Gonzalez County prosecutor to decide whether he will force another trial.
