In Fort Collins and Larimer County, Disorderly Conduct can be charged for a variety of actions, including making an offensive gesture or utterance. A man was recently ticketed for this offense after he gave the finger to a police officer. According to the report, the man was trying to get something to eat from a fast food restaurant, but police officers were blocking the way after making an arrest. The man was not happy about that and yelled at the officers to move. He was told to stop yelling or he would get a ticket. The officer did end up moving a patrol vehicle out of the way. The man ordered his food and after being told that the restaurant had not had anyone come through the drive-thru for more than 30 minutes because of the police officers blocking the way, the man was angry. He pulled back around to where the officers were and he yelled an expletive and gave the officers the finger. He left, but one officer got in the vehicle and pulled him over to give him a Disorderly Conduct ticket.
Fort Collins Disorderly Conduct Attorney: How is Disorderly Conduct Charged in Colorado?
The Fort Collins, Colorado law definition of Disorderly Conduct – C.R.S. 18-9-106 – is:
(a) Makes a coarse and obviously offensive utterance, gesture, or display in a public place and the utterance, gesture, or display tends to incite an immediate breach of the peace; or
(b) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2000, p. 708, § 39, effective July 1, 2000.)
(c) Makes unreasonable noise in a public place or near a private residence that he has no right to occupy; or
(d) Fights with another in a public place except in an amateur or professional contest of athletic skill; or
(e) Not being a peace officer, discharges a firearm in a public place except when engaged in lawful target practice or hunting or the ritual discharge of blank ammunition cartridges as an attendee at a funeral for a deceased person who was a veteran of the armed forces of the United States; or
(f) Not being a peace officer, displays a real or simulated firearm, displays any article used or fashioned in a manner to cause a person to reasonably believe that the article is a firearm, or represents verbally or otherwise that he or she is armed with a firearm in a public place in a manner calculated to alarm and does alarm another person.
The man was probably charged under subsection (a). However, an important part of that subsection is “the utterance, gesture, or display tends to incite an immediate breach of the peace.” He gave the finger to officers. Are they really not able to stay peaceful when someone gives them the finger? Was there really a chance that all hell would break loose and they couldn’t control themselves because someone flipped the bird? That seems like a stretch to me.
Sentence for Disorderly Conduct in Loveland and Fort Collins
In Loveland, Fort Collins, and across Larimer County, Disorderly Conduct is charged differently based on the subsection the person is charged under. It is charged as follows:
- An offense pursuant to subsection (1)(a) or (1)(c) of this section is a petty offense; except that, if the offense is committed with intent to disrupt, impair, or interfere with a funeral, or with intent to cause severe emotional distress to a person attending a funeral, it is a class 2 misdemeanor.
- An offense pursuant to subsection (1)(d) of this section is a petty offense.
- An offense pursuant to subsection (1)(f) of this section is a class 2 misdemeanor.
- An offense pursuant to subsection (1)(e) of this section is a class 1 misdemeanor.
So, for the man above, he would be facing the petty offense charge, which is punishable by up to 10 days in the Larimer County Jail.
If you or someone you love has been charged with Disorderly Conduct, be smart, exercise your right to remain silent, and contact the best criminal defense attorneys from the O’Malley Law Office at 970-658-0007 to schedule a free initial consultation. Together, we can protect your future.
Image by Olya Adamovich from Pixabay