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My fellow native Vermonters are not known for our road rage or driving aggressively. In fact, I’d say we have a reputation as a peaceful lot who get along well with our friendly, small town police. But things aren’t always as they seem. In 2018, a Vermont driver was arrested for flipping a police officer the middle finger and after winning in court he sued the state. Five years later, the state trooper has resigned and the state settled to the tune of $175,000.

You might call it flipping someone off. Giving the finger. Throwing up the one finger salute. Giving the bird. Flashing the impudent digit. Or flying the double deuce. However you refer to this rude guesture, you know it’s not polite. But is it illegal? We’ve already written about the murky laws around flipping off another driver and even flipping off a cop. But here’s another case of a police officer’s power trip coming back to bite them in court. To the tune of $175,000.

In 2018, Saint Albans native Gregory Bombard was driving his Mazda crossover when he got pulled over. Officer Riggen told Bombard he’d seen him flip him off. Bombard denied the gesture. He also argued that giving a police officer the finger isn’t illegal.

“If someone flipped you off, what is the citation? What’s the crime?…That would be considered freedom of expression.”

Did Bombard do it? Or was Riggen being paranoid? The Vermont State Police have released Riggen’s dash cam footage, but its not clear whether Bombard flashed a finger or not.

At that point, Riggen seemed to dismiss the entire thing, walked back to his car, and drove away. As he was pulling away, Bombard did give him the finger. And he swore at him too. Riggen turned around and arrested Bombard for “disorderly conduct,” and led him away in handcuffs.

One year later, the case was dismissed by the state. But Bombard wasn’t done. In 2021 he filed a lawsuit against Riggen and Vermont for violating his First Amendment right–the right to free speech.

Jay Diaz, senior attorney for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression explained Bombard’s reasoning. “Cursing at cops isn’t a crime…Calling it ‘disorderly conduct’ isn’t a get-out-the-Constitution-free card that allows police to silence speech they don’t like.”

Riggen has resigned from the police force. But the ACLU and FIRE found that the entire department had no training or general policy on the First Amendment. So they doubled down on the case against the state.

In June 2024, Vermont finally settled with Bombard, to the tune of $175,000. Of that, he owes $75,000 to his attorneys. Bombard said, “With this settlement, I hope the Vermont State Police will train its troopers to avoid silencing criticism or making baseless car stops…And at least now I can pay my criminal attorney for defending me from the bogus charges and take my 88-year-old mother out for a nice dinner.”

Next, learn whether its illegal to lean on your horn, or see FIRE’s coverage of Bombard’s settlement in the video below:

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Staff Writer

Henry Cesari

Henry Cesari joined MotorBiscuit in 2021 and brings his deep interest in vintage cars, trucks, and motorcycles to the site. Having restored his first classic car at just 16 years old, Henry has wrenched on everything from overland campers to Japanese motorcycles and even pre-war Bugattis. Henry is also an avid attendee at local car shows and genuinely enjoys connecting with fellow auto enthusiasts.

Henry earned a Bachelor’s in Anthropology and English from the University of Vermont. He has since incorporated his love of the written word with his admiration of classic cars. While Henry is interested in vintage cars, he believes the golden age of cars is yet to come. He is confident journalists will play an important role in this revolution by exposing the industry as it is now and envisioning its possible future.