Utah City Settles with Man Who Flipped Off Officer

OREM, Utah (AP) - A Utah city has reached a settlement in a lawsuit that alleged a police officer violated a man's constitutional rights by pulling him over for giving the officer the middle finger.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah had sued on behalf of Seth Dame, who flipped off an officer driving by on June 25, 2010.

The organization says the officer stopped the car Dame was riding in and cited him for disorderly conduct.

The city declined to prosecute the case, but the ACLU claimed the incident violated Dame's constitutional rights under the First and Fourth amendments.

Orem police have agreed to continue First Amendment protection training for officers and pay $5,000 in damages and attorneys' fees.

The ACLU says allowing police to detain people for rude behavior would give officers wide discretion to harass people.

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