(NewsNation) — An Alabama man says he’s willing to serve 30 days in jail rather than apologize to a police officer as ordered by a municipal judge after being accused of disrespecting the officer during a traffic stop.
“Yes, I’ll go to jail for 30, 60 days, whatever they want me to do so I can prove my point … we got rights. So if we don’t stand up for them we’ll never have,” Reginald Burks said Monday on NewsNation’s “On Balance.”
The case stems from a speeding ticket Burks received in Ozark, Alabama. Municipal Judge Nicholas Bull required Burks to write a letter of apology to the officer who pulled him over after Burks allegedly told the officer “get your ass out the way” so he could get his kids to school.
If Burks fails to apologize by June 4, he faces 30 days in jail. He was charged with speeding for going 3 mph over the posted speed limit.
Burks, who is Black, suggested he wouldn’t be facing potential jail time if he were white.
“Probably not. Most of the time, all you see is Black African Americans getting arrested or locked up or ticketed for something crazy … for no reason,” he said. “I’m just sick of it.”
Burks’ attorney, David Harrison, said they plan to fight any jail sentence by filing federal lawsuits, citing precedent that profane language toward police is protected speech under the Constitution.
“Alabama is in the 11th circuit. And the 11th circuit has a plethora of cases specifically (indicating) that profane language to a police officer is protected speech under the Constitution of the United States of America,” Harrison said.