Metro

Free-speech suit over speeding-ticket scrawl

A 22-year-old man who was arrested in the Catskills town of Liberty, NY, for writing obscenities and “Tyranny” on his speeding-ticket payment claims in a federal lawsuit that his free-speech rights were violated.

William Barboza is suing two police officers in the village over an arrest stemming from an August 2012 ticket.

He was ordered to appear in court for replacing “Liberty” with “Tyranny” on the payment form, along with an obscenity-laced insult.

The lawsuit, filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union, says the Fairfield County, Conn., man was ordered to town court, where he was handcuffed and arrested for aggravated harassment. He posted $200 bail in court that day. The charges were dismissed in March.

The NYCLU argues that offensive language is protected speech. There was no immediate comment from Liberty police.