Cop Tickets Teen $200 For Swearing At Park, Court Rules It's A-OK

Andersen, 19, was hanging out with friends on April 11 in a parking lot next to the downtown pavilion and Imagination Station play area when he became upset that a friend, who had been ticketed for skateboarding, was told by police to leave. He said he swore under his breath, saying “This is f------ bulls---.”

He said no children were around or heard him swear.

A Brighton police officer ticketed him for disorderly conduct. The officer wrote on the ticket that Andersen was discussing his dislike for his friend getting a ticket for skateboarding, using vulgar language in a city parking lot near the Imagination Station where kids are and using the “f bomb.”

Andersen challenged the ticket in court and lost; he was fined $200.

“The Brighton Police Department does an excellent job protecting the citizens and visitors of our city,” [Brighton Mayor Pro Tem Shawn] Pipoly said. “As a councilman and mayor pro tem, I stand behind and fully support them.”

Pipoly said his father wouldn’t have much sympathy if he had done something similar as a young man.

“If I was the young man in this situation, my father would have told me to grow up and take it like a man,” Pipoly said. “And then he would have spanked me thoroughly.”