Badass I.T. recruiter Robert Bell, 26, has a problem with authority, so he must be pretty stoked that he got The Man to fork over $15,000 to make his lawsuit against NYC go away. Bell, whose story you know from all the folk songs performed around campfires in his honor, was arrested one fateful night in 2011 after he fearlessly gave a group of NYPD officers the finger (behind their backs).
Bell, a NJ resident, was standing outside The Slaughtered Lamb Pub on West 4th Street when several of New York's Finest happened to stroll by. For no apparent reason other than PIGS are TOOLS of RULING CLASS OPPRESSION, Bell raised his middle finger at the officers after they passed. Hardcore, right? But before Bell could fire up his Harley and roar off into the outlaw wilds of New Jersey, he was stopped by one Officer Peter Play, who witnessed his gesture of disrespect. And Officer Play doesn't kid around.
“DO YOU THINK THAT’S FUNNY?” the ironically-named Play implored Bell. But before Bell could even respond, Officer Play allegedly "grabbed Bell, rear-cuffed him, escorted him around the corner near the other officer-defendants, and pushed [him] chest-first into a wall." Asked why he gave them the finger, Bell says he replied, "Because I don’t like cops." He was then detained for several hours at the local precinct station house, where he was allegedly subjected to "derogatory comments and taunts regarding their perception of Bell's sexual orientation."
Bell pleaded not guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct for making an "obscene gesture" and causing "public alarm and annoyance." But Officer Play appeared in court and the case was dismissed. Then Bell filed his inevitable lawsuit, which was settled out of court this week for $15,000. A triumphant Bell now tells DNAinfo he plans to use the money to pay for law school. And if he gets the chance to flip off some cops again, you know he won't hold back. "If I thought [an officer] was in the wrong for something, I would do it," Bell told the website, presumably stubbing out an unfiltered Lucky Strike in the palm of his leathery hand. "I would just ensure that I prefaced any criticism with 'With all due respect.' "
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