RICHMOND, Va. — A deputy sheriff in Virginia is facing trial on a claim she violated the First Amendment rights of a woman by offering to buy another deputy lunch if he issued her a traffic ticket in retaliation for critical Facebook posts.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that the case began on Jan. 24, 2019, when Deputy Sheriff James Riley pulled over three drivers for passing a stopped school bus that had its red lights flashing.
Spotsylvania County Deputy Sheriff Marcia Curtis overheard the name of one of the drivers over the radio, called Riley’s cellphone and said, “If you ticket this … person, I will buy you lunch.”
