He took out a trooper and was charged. Now Vermont is on the hook for $175,000.

ST. ALBANS, Va. (AP) — Vermont has agreed to pay $175,000 to settle a lawsuit on behalf of a man charged with a crime for giving a middle finger to a state trooper in 2018, the state Division of American Civil Rights said. Liberties Union. Wednesday.

The lawsuit was filed in 2021 by the ACLU of Vermont on behalf of Gregory Bombard of St. Albans. The report said Bombard’s First Amendment rights were violated after an unnecessary traffic stop and retaliatory arrest in 2018.

Trooper Jay Riggen stopped Bombard’s vehicle in St. Albans on Feb. 9, 2018, because he believed Bombard had shown him the middle finger, the lawsuit said. Bombard denied that, but says he swore and gave the middle finger as soon as the first stop ended.

Bombard was stopped again and arrested on charges of disorderly conduct, and his car was towed. According to the ACLU, he was jailed for more than an hour and taken to criminal court. The charges were ultimately dismissed.

Under the settlement the parties signed this month, the state has agreed to pay Bombard $100,000 and $75,000 to the ACLU of Vermont and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression for legal fees.

“While our client is pleased with this outcome, this incident should never have happened in the first place,” Hillary Rich, staff attorney for the ACLU of Vermont, said in a statement. “Police must respect everyone’s First Amendment rights — even for things they find offensive or offensive.”

Vermont State Police had no comment on the settlement. Vermont did not admit to any wrongdoing as part of the deal.

Bombard said in a statement released by the ACLU that he hopes Vermont State Police will train its troops “to avoid silencing criticism or making unwarranted car stops.”

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