Bombard v. Riggen, State of Vermont: Vermonter Arrested for Cursing at a Cop

Complaint - Bombard v. Riggen, State of Vermont

On February 9, 2018, Gregory Bombard was driving through his hometown of St. Albans, Vermont, enjoying a coffee and a cigarette. He committed no crime — not even a minor traffic violation.

Twenty minutes later, he was sitting in a jail cell.

Bombard’s alleged crime? Cursing at a cop and giving him the finger during a traffic stop — conduct that is squarely protected by the First Amendment. The First Amendment protects the right to engage in rude or offensive speech — including the middle-finger — especially when directed at government authorities.

As the police video shows, Vermont State Trooper Jay Riggen abused his power by pulling over Bombard for flipping him the bird.  As it happened, Riggen was mistaken and Bombard had not made the gesture. But even if he had, it would have been unconstitutional for Riggen to retaliate against a civilian for nothing more than an insult.

The stop ended only after Bombard suggested that he would file a complaint. As Bombard pulled away, he really did give a good old-fashioned one-finger salute, and said “asshole” and “fuck you.”

An angry Trooper Riggen immediately pulled over Bombard a second time and arrested him for “disorderly conduct.” Bombard was handcuffed, searched, thrown in the back of a police car, locked in a station holding cell, and forced to have his fingerprints and mugshot taken, with the mugshot later distributed to Vermont media outlets. As a final indignity, Riggen had Bombard’s car towed for being in a “no parking” zone—where Riggen instructed Bombard to pull over.

On December 15, 2023, FIRE asked the Superior Court of Vermont to rule, as a matter of law, that Riggen unlawfully retaliated against Bombard and chilled his speech—because cursing at cops is not a crime.