Sterling, Colorado officials yesterday dropped criminal charges against an Oklahoma man who flipped off a female police officer on August 28. The officer had stopped James Dodd, 49, for driving 60 MPH in a 45 MPH zone on US Highway 6. Dodd does not dispute the charge and he eventually paid the $75 fine.

However, when the officer went back to her patrol car, Dodd says he saw that she had a "satisfied smirk" on her face. "So I threw up my hands and she pulled me over again," he told the Journal Advocate newspaper. "She said I was going to jail because I flipped her off."

He was given a second ticket for "disturbing the peace," an offense carrying a $175 fine. Prosecutors had no choice but to dismiss the charge because it violated a 1976 Colorado Supreme Court ruling. The city attorney feared an "open season" toward police if motorists knew they could express their feelings with their middle finger.