$50K Tentatively Approved In Middle-Finger Case

Butler Man Flipped Bird At Pittsburgh Police Officer

POSTED: 10:08 pm EST November 24, 2009
UPDATED: 12:56 am EST November 25, 2009

Hackbart, 35, of Butler, wasn't done using his middle finger.

"I heard a voice outside the car telling me not to do that and that frustrated me too. So, I flipped that person off and that turned out to be a police officer," Hackbart said. "I tried to explain to him it was constitutionally protected, what I did. He did not want to hear it and gave me a citation."

The incident launched a federal civil rights case, which was postponed indefinitely at the request of lawyers on both sides. The case has tentatively ended with the City Council's approval Tuesday of a proposed $50,000 settlement. Another vote is scheduled next week for final approval.

Hackbart said his lawsuit was about change -- not money.

"Put some sort of policy in place that the officers are trained better and there is some sort of supervision in officers writing tickets so people don't have to go through what I went through," Hackbart said.

Hackbart said there's lesson for all to learn from his obscene gesture.

"I don't advocate people using the middle finger for (any) reason, any situation, 24 hours a day, but if someone ran across a certain situation in mind, at least he knows his rights," Hackbart said.

Of the proposed $50,000 settlement, Hackbart said he would receive only $10,000. His lawyers and the American Civil Liberties Union would split the remaining $40,000.

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