Washington County man sues after arrest for swearing
(Pennsylvania, June 5, 2014) A man from the Washington County was arrested and charged for repeatedly swearing in front of Canonsburg police . Officer James Spingola warned Mr. Pustovrh not to use the word, then handcuffed Mr. Pustovrh, took him to the station, detained him in a holding cell and charged him. His attorney is suing, arguing that this was an exercise of Richard Pustovrh’s first rights “to vocalize his feelings and frustration.”
Remember the old-time “vagrancy” and “loitering” laws that allowed police to arrest you for not having a sufficient amount of money in your pocket, or just for being in a public place and looking like a hippie or other undesirable? You don’t hear about such laws anymore, because the courts threw them out as unconstitutional, which in retrospect seems like a no-brainer. Well, the First Amendment protects swearing. You know, free speech; ever heard of it? Mr. Pustovrh will win his case, and another small-town police force undereducated in constitutional law will be brought into a 21st-century state of legal awareness.