Offensive Conduct Analysis

As a Memphis Police Officer, you learn very quickly what is the difference between offensive speech and offensive conduct. My first training officer would shout obscenities at me all day in between calls while riding in the squad car and during conversations. Most the obscenities focused on my family or just me in general; some were more colorful than others. There were times that I got frustrated with his actions and thought that it was a little excessive and unprofessional. Eventually, I realized that it was coming from the right place and he wanted me to be a well-rounded officer. He would often say that you're a new officer and have not been called a ‘motherfu*^er” before so I am preparing you for wanting you going to encounter on a regular …show more content…
The unit introduced Cohen v. California, which described on one person's views about the draft around the Vietnam War. Paul Robert Cohen utilized a four letter word to described his feelings about the draft. The police charged Cohen with disturbing the peace and offensive conduct. This four letter word offended a majority of people included the police officer. The court found that Cohen choice of words did not “provoke others to act violently or disturb the peace”(pg 42). The courts found that Cohen was expressing his freedom of speech which is his constitutional right. An individual is free to express themselves as long as their time, place or manner of expression does not infringe on someone else’s liberties. The courts made mention that Cohen did use what called “fighting words.” Words that are personally abusive and when addressed to an ordinary citizen would provoke a violent reaction. While Cohen was expressing himself, there was no individual nearby that would have thought the words on his jacket to be an insult directed towards them personally. When it comes to arrestable offense, you have to take an individual's offensive conduct into