By Nicholas J.C. Pistor
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
BELLEVILLE, Mo. — A Belleville police officer arrested a St. Charles man for wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the word “POLICE.”
Now, Adam C. Weinstein, of St. Charles, has sued the department for what he calls a violation of his constitutional rights.
According to police documents, Weinstein was arrested in 2006 outside a bar in Belleville for “impersonating officers.” He had been inside the bar when he became warm and removed his sweater, the suit states. Underneath, he was wearing a black T-shirt with the word “police” striped across the front and back.
“Those T-shirts are a sign of solidarity,” said Howard A. Shalowitz, an attorney representing Weinstein. “How many people wear NYPD caps? Are they impersonating police?”
According to the lawsuit, a waitress told Weinstein that some police officers wanted to speak with him outside the bar. Weinstein went outside, he said, and was greeted by Belleville Officer Jeff Vernatti.
Vernatti, Weinstein alleges, asked him for his police credentials. Weinstein says he told the officer he wasn’t a police officer.
That’s when, according to Weinstein, the officer started screaming curse words and became physically and verbally abusive. Weinstein says he was cuffed and later released by the officer, but made to take the T-shirt off while standing in the cold.
Weinstein was ticketed for impersonating a police officer, but the charge was later dismissed. The ticket only alleged Weinstein wore the T-shirt.
“I’m afraid to go to Belleville,” Weinstein said Tuesday in an interview. According to the suit, Weinstein is a firefighter.
He said he bought two of the shirts - one for him, one for his wife - at Leon’s Uniform Company in St. Louis while buying firefighting supplies.
The lawsuit was filed last week in St. Clair County. Vernatti and the city of Bellevile are named as defendants.
In 2005, Vernatti and the city of Belleville were sued for allegedly tasering a man. That case was later settled.
Belleville Mayor Mark W. Eckert, through an aide, declined to comment. A spokesman for the Belleville police also refused to comment on a pending suit. Vernatti couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday.
Steven Beckett, professor and director of trial advocacy at the University of Illinois law school, said the arrest might have been a violation of Weinstein’s First Amendment rights.
“A T-shirt alone isn’t enough to arrest someone,” Beckett said. “There must be some overt act.”
Beckett added: “The police complaint on its face is inconsistent with the First Amendment.”
Copyright 2009 St. Louis Post-Dispatch