A judge ruled Tuesday that a man who flashed his headlights to warn drivers of a nearby police speed trap was exercising his right to free speech, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
Ryan Kintner, 25, of Lake Mary, Florida, was ticketed last August in Seminole County for what police said was a violation of a state traffic law that outlined appropriate headlight use.
Kintner contested the ticket and sued the Seminole County Sheriff's Office for violating his civil rights, reported the Sentinel.
The circuit judge hearing the case ruled last October that using headlights for communication didn't fall under the state law.
After a second hearing, the judge took his ruling a step further Tuesday, saying Kintner was protected by his constitutional right to free speech under the First Amendment.
County police agreed to stop issuing tickets for flashing headlights last September, a month after Kintner filed the suit.
A spokesperson for the Seminole county Sheriff’s Office said she wouldn’t comment specifically on the court ruling, but said the office is pleased the ambiguity in the language of the state law had been clarified. Invididuals are not to be cited for flashing lights into ongoing vechicles under the law, she said.
According to the suit, Kintner was home when he saw a deputy park and pull out his radar gun. Kintner then got in his car, drove a couple of blocks away, parked and started flashing his lights at incoming traffic to warn other cars, the paper reported.
At an earlier hearing Circuit Judge Alan Dickey said, "If the goal of the traffic law is promote safety and not to raise revenue, then why wouldn't we want everyone who sees a law enforcement officer with a radar gun in his hand, blinking his lights to slow down all those other cars?" reported The Crime Report.
“I have nothing against officers," Kintner said in an August interview with the Sentinel. "But when you cross a line and get into free speech, I feel it's gone too far."
SOURCE: New York Daily News
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