The argument began while driving and ended up in a convenience store parking lot where Shahrokhi let loose with some bad language. He explained “I pull up along side him, and essentially told him that I had intercourse with his daughter from behind, and she liked it.” Rather than responding with the customary “so’s your mother,” the driver called police.
Could you imagine that call coming in to a New York police dispatcher? He would offer various suggested retorts involving farm animals and close relatives.
Mike Nolan admits that he was giving as good as he got but kept it decent: “After what he said about my mother and my daughter, it got me a little outraged.”
In Overland, the police send a cruiser and arrest the man for using offensive, obscene or abusive language to arouse alarm, anger or resentment in others.
Jim Weaver, of the OPPD, insists that “It wasn’t just one word.” That would suggest a profanity version of the common law “one-free-bite rule” for dogs. You get one-free-swear-word in Overland. Two presumably gets you a warning. Three gets you jail time.
Shahrokhi added “I can’t imagine the F-bomb warrants 30 days but I don’t know. It’s Overland Park.”
These cases raise serious constitutional questions of free speech and vagueness, here and here.
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