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70 Dep't of Just. J. Fed. L. & Prac. 95 (2022)
Prosecuting First Amendment Retaliation

handle is hein.journals/usab70 and id is 394 raw text is: Prosecuting First Amendment Retaliation Christopher J. Perras Special Litigation Counsel Civil Rights Division I. Introduction Contempt-of-cop-a play on the phrase contempt of court-occurs when a person does something to draw the ire of a law enforcement officer-argues with him, records his actions, protests police misconduct, files a complaint against him, etc.-and the officer retaliates by abusing his power in some way: using excessive force, arresting the person without probable cause, and/or charging the person with a pretextual offense.1 In such cases, the person is said to have committed the imaginary offense of contempt-of-cop. Contempt-of-cop is not a real crime, but it is a real phenomenon. Examples abound on YouTube, like this exchange between a citizen and a Miami Beach Police Officer: Citizen: You have a great day too, sir. Officer: Trust me, I will. Citizen: God bless you. Officer: You know what? Fuck it, let's throw your ass in jail.2 Or this interaction between a citizen and a Victorville Sheriffs Deputy: Deputy: You know what man? I'm about getting tired of you and you're about to go to jail just so you know. 1 See Velazquez v. City of Long Beach, 793 F.3d 1010, 1022 (9th Cir. 2015) (explaining that the offense of 'contempt of cop' occurs when officers charge resisting arrest or failure to obey or other minimal procedural offenses simply to punish or exact retribution on disrespectful or non-submissive individuals) (quoting Erin Murphy, Manufacturing Crime: Process, Pretext, and Criminal Justice, 97 GEO. L.J. 1435, 1451 n.50 (2009)). 2 Albert Valdes, Miami Beach Cop loses it when I say God Bless You, YOUTUBE, at 0:10 (Oct. 27, 2014), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbWEt GV3xvg. DOJ Journal of Federal Law and Practice March 2022 95

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