News

July 31, 2009

Police citation over sign leads to federal lawsuit

Hughestown man is seeking economic and punitive damages from borough.

By Steve Mocarsky smocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer
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SCRANTON – A Hughestown man who was cited with disorderly conduct after displaying a sign in his pickup’s rear window using the f-word is suing the borough, the police officer who cited him and other borough officials.

According to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Scranton, Joseph Decker says he suffered an attempted knife attack, vandalism and harassment as a result of the citation, causing him financial loss and mental anguish.

He’s seeking economic, non-economic, special and punitive damages to be determined at a jury trial, as well as costs, expenses, attorney fees and other relief the court deems just and equitable.

According to the suit, Decker on Nov. 11 received a non-traffic citation for disorderly conduct issued by Patrolman Robert Leombruni because of a sign on Decker’s truck that read: “If your (sic) in America and can’t speak English, get the (expletive) out!”

Although the charge was withdrawn on Jan. 26, the issuance of the citation violated Decker’s constitutional rights in regulating/restricting his protected speech, the complaint states. It goes on to assert the sign was not obscene and did not fall under other categories of unprotected speech.

“The citation also fueled a number of retaliatory acts by the public against Mr. Decker and caused him and his family great cost and distress,” the complaint states.

In addition to spending time conducting a legal defense, Decker sustained damage to his vehicle, including a shattered rear window, slashed tires, a creased bumper, a broken mirror and scratches and dents, the complaint alleges.

Also, as a proximate result of the issuance of the citation, Decker suffered an attempted knife attack by a woman and was forced to install security lights on his house and change his phone number to prevent such further acts and harassment and to ensure the protection of his family, the complaint states.

Named as defendants, in addition to Leombruni and the borough, are Hughestown Police Chief Stephen Golya and Mayor Paul Hindmarsh.

Decker’s attorney, Tullio DeLuca, of Scranton, did not return a call seeking comment. Neither did Golya or Leombruni.

Hindmarsh said he doesn’t think the retaliatory acts cited in Decker’s complaint were related to the citation.

“I think it was a personal issue he had with his neighbors, to the best of my knowledge,” he said.

And Hindmarsh said he still believes the sign was inappropriate for display in an area near the Pittston Area elementary and middle schools.

“To go ahead and advertise it on your truck, it was a poor choice of words. Evidently, he must have felt the same way or he wouldn’t have changed the lettering. … Shortly after we talked with him and issued the citation and the neighbors started complaining, he changed the lettering on the sign,” Hindmarsh said.

Decker had reworded the sign to correct the grammar and replace the expletive with symbols prior to the disorderly conduct charge being withdrawn.

Mary Catherine Roper, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, said it’s “quite clear that he (Decker) had a right to have that sign on his truck and quite clear he shouldn’t have been cited for it.”

Roper said the most famous case that supports Decker’s claim is Cohen v. California, which was ultimately decided in the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 1968, during the Vietnam War, 19-year-old Paul Robert Cohen wore a jacket bearing the words “(Expletive) the draft” while inside the Los Angeles Courthouse and was arrested and convicted of disturbing the peace by offensive conduct.

“The U.S. Supreme Court said always, but especially when you’re commenting on political issues, people are not required to be gentile or polite or even refrain from profanity in expressing their political views,” Roper said.

Steve Mocarsky, a Times leader staff writer, may be reached at 970-7311.

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