CLACKAMAS, Ore. (AP) — A Clackamas, Ore., man has filed a federal lawsuit over what he says is his First Amendment right to express himself by giving the finger to sheriff’s deputies.
Robert Ekas tells The Oregonian that he flipped off Clackamas County sheriff’s deputies last year because he has a constitutional right to do it. Ekas also says he is protesting police violence.
In his lawsuit, Ekas says that in July 2007 he flipped off a Clackamas deputy while driving, and the deputy gave him tickets for illegal lane change and improper display of license plates. He was acquitted on the citations. A month later, he gave the finger to another deputy, who detained him but wrote no tickets.
Ekas alleges he was being harassed. An attorney for the county declined to comment on the lawsuit.
