The other day, I came across an article that amused me, and made me wonder. It is the story of a neighborly argument in a town in Québec, Canada, that turned into police arrest and a court hearing.
The story is that two neighbors, who apparently have had some history, got into a verbal argument. The first one supposedly said nasty things to the second one, and the second one told him to f***off and gave him the finger. Later that day, the second man was arrested for making death threats to the first one. This happened in May 2021.
The case went to court this past winter, and on February 24, 2023, the judge threw the case out and ruled that “To be abundantly clear, it is not a crime to give someone the finger. ....Flipping the proverbial bird is a God-given, charter-enshrined right that belongs to every red-blooded Canadian.” The judge was referring to Canada’s charter of rights and freedoms.
The complainant (the first guy) had apparently called 911, and this is how the second guy was arrested. The judge did say that telling someone to f***off and giving the finger should not trigger a call to 911. “It may not be civil, it may not be polite, it may not be gentlemanly … Nevertheless, it does not trigger criminal liability.” It goes without saying, that the judge threw out the case.
Now this all seems amusing, but at a second level, there is another concern, and the judge referred to it indirectly. That is why did the case even get to the court? And on what basis and evidence did the police arrest the guy giving the finger? Was it just because the first guy said the second guy «threatened him»? Where was the principle of due diligence on the part of the police before going down the arrest path, which is not a minor thing?
Yes, the first guy should be scolded for the charade, but what about the officers and their superior who wasted police and court time for a casual neighborly ‘honor finger’ showing?!
Paris, April 20, 2023
Zeejay