A free speech advocate charged by State Police while protesting a 2015 drunken driving checkpoint will receive a $50,000 settlement to end his federal lawsuit against the agency.

South Windsor resident Michael Picard was holding a sign alerting drivers to a DUI checkpoint in September 2015 when three troopers confiscated his camera, according to the lawsuit.

With the camera still rolling while resting on the hood of a state police cruiser, Trooper First Class John Barone can be heard saying they needed to charge Picard with something because they “gotta cover our ass.” The camera was returned after the troopers issued Picard a ticket for $178. The criminal charges were dismissed in state court.

“In a free society, it is normal and necessary for people to protest the government, including police,” Picard said of the settlement. “If police violate people’s fundamental right to peacefully protest, those police employees should be held accountable. In addition to the human costs of poor police behavior, there can also be financial costs for taxpayers. I hope my story sends a message to police departments that they cannot ignore the Constitution without consequences.”

After filing numerous lawsuits, this is the first financial settlement for Picard, who calls himself a “liberty activist.” Picard also has a pending federal lawsuit filed against former Stamford Police Chief Jon Fontneau. Picard claims the retired chief violated his rights by seeking his arrest for protesting outside the police department while carrying a sign on the sidewalk. The charges were dropped in that case as well.

Picard has also filed a complaint with the state Freedom of Information Commission, challenging a recent change to the state police contract that allows the agency to keep hidden all internal affairs investigations that don’t result in disciplinary action.

The commission has agreed to review the IA reports to determine whether they can be released in accordance with the state police contract, which was approved by the legislature in June. Picard requested the documents in May.

Picard was standing on a highway median at an on-ramp in West Hartford on Sept. 11, 2015, protesting a DUI checkpoint when he was approached by state police, according to his lawsuit.

He was carrying a sign that read, “Cops Ahead: Keep Calm and Remain Silent” and wearing a gun in a holster when Barone walked up and swatted his camera out of his hand, the lawsuit said. The camera and his gun were taken, but later returned after he was given a ticket for illegal use of the highway and creating a public disturbance.

Barone claimed police received complaints about a man waving a gun on the on-ramp. However, no complaints were received, the lawsuit said. Barone also at one point told Picard that it was “illegal to take my picture without my permission.”

Barone, who is now retired, and the other two state police troopers, Patrick Torneo and John Jacobi, now also retired, were exonerated of any wrongdoing by a state police internal affairs investigation, the lawsuit said.

Picard sued in 2016 claiming the encounter violated his First Amendment free speech rights and Fourth Amendments rights against the unlawful seizure of property. A federal court judge agreed in September to allow the Fourth Amendment portion of the lawsuit to move forward to a trial.

"A lot has changed in law enforcement over the last five years," said Brian Foley, executive aide to state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner James Rovella, who oversees the state police. "It served as a learning point for everyone involved."

Under the terms of the settlement between Picard and the state, he will receive $1,800 for every minute state police held on to his camera. The total cost is about $50,000, according to the Connecticut American Civil Liberties Union, which represented him in the lawsuit.

The state and the troopers, who were represented by the state Attorney General’s Office, did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

“We are pleased that Michael’s case has ended in a fair agreement,” said Dan Barrett, the CT ACLU’s legal director who represented Picard in the case. “Michael was exercising his peaceful, lawful right to protest when Connecticut State Police seized his camera without a warrant and undermined his First Amendment right to protest and record them. Police must understand, and this agreement shows, that they ultimately must answer to the Constitution.”