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Can't Cuss at Cops
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 30, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 30, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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Big uh-oh for pottymouths! A judge has ruled that a man who yelled "Go f--- yourself!" at a cop can face disorderly conduct charges. The Post details the story of Ramon Morena, who had been arguing with a woman when a cop intervened. Morena yelled at the cop, so the cop gave him a summons that said the yelling "annoyed or alarmed the general public." Morena's lawyer tried to use the First Amendment and say only the cop was annoyed, not the public, but Criminal Court Judge Richard Weinberg disagreed, saying that he would not "condone the heaping of verbal abuse upon a police officer regardless of the circumstances." Word to the wise: Go with "Go fug yourself!" But we imagine that even if Morena didn't curse when yelling at the cop, he'd be slapped with a summons - police don't like it when there are lots of bikes on the streets, so they probably don't liked being yelled at either.
We have to give it up to the Post for their first sentence in the story: "Screaming an anatomically impossible obscene suggestion at a police officer is against the law..." And we bet Morena's lawyer uses the Cheney defense when the case goes back to the judge.
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News: NYC
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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