Saskatoon

No offence: Saskatoon driver beats $150 flipping 'the finger' ticket

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Police had accused Kevin Kaufmann of making an offensive gesture

Kevin Kaufmann points to his traffic ticket with a different finger than the one he says police allege he was using. (Victoria Dinh/CBC)

There will be no trial for a Saskatoon man accused of flipping the bird at police.

"It's done," Kevin Kaufmann told CBC Radio's Saskatoon Morning on Friday.

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Kaufmann's journey in the justice system began last March when he was given a traffic ticket for "stunting," after police accused him of extending his middle finger to them as he was passing a speed trap.

He maintained he was simply scratching his face.

'Don't let them just walk all over you.' - Kevin Kaufmann

"My eye started to kind of water up because I had been covered in sawdust and I was pretty dirty from that day, and all I really did was just a regular old farmer's scratch," Kaufmann explained back in March.

The police were not buying it, and they issued a $150 ticket on the spot.

When the story first came to light, CBC Radio asked police for an explanation.

Stunting defined

Saskatoon Police Service spokesperson Alyson Edwards was unable to comment on the specifics of the case, but explained in March what constitutes "stunting" in the eyes of police.

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"A stunting ticket is given when a person using the roadway does anything that draws attention to themselves which may cause drivers to take their focus off the road," said Edwards in an emailed statement to CBC at the time.

"If the driver who was ticketed wishes to appear in court to dispute it, he is welcome to do that."

No day in court

So that's what Kaufmann did. Friday on Saskatoon Morning, he was back with an update.

"The week before we were actually supposed to go to trial, I contacted my lawyers and they told me that the charges had been stayed," Kaufmann told the CBC Radio program.

For Kaufmann, the fight stands as important lesson for everyone who has ever found themselves being ticketed by police for something they didn't do.

"Stand up for yourself. Don't let them just walk all over you," he said.