Two Bledsoe County men have filed a federal lawsuit alleging two Pikeville police officers violated their constitutional rights by citing them over obscene bumper stickers.
It’s the second time Dustin Bolin and Robert Bowen are making the accusations over enforcement of a Tennessee law that forbids obscene or patently offensive bumper stickers.
They filed the claim last week in Chattanooga and have a pending lawsuit in Bledsoe County Chancery Court, according to the Bledsoe County clerk’s office. Bolin and Bowen are being represented by former Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston.
Bowen had one bumper sticker, “In protest of 55-8-187,” that was an apparent reference to the state code he was accused of violating, according to the complaint. There was an assortment of other messages on his truck that read “F— Biden,” “Jawbone of the A–,” and “Can you eat the hole?”
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He was parked near city hall Oct. 10, 2023, the complaint said. Pikeville Police Chief Ronald Byrd and Assistant Police Chief David Decker approached Bowen and cited him.
The charge against him was ultimately dismissed.
Byrd and Decker are accused of using their positions as officers to detain and arrest him without any lawful reason, the complaint said.
Another man, Bolin, was stopped two months later by Decker while driving his car within city limits.
Bolin was detained and cited for having bumper stickers that announced several proclivities for eating a– and asked other motorists to honk if they do, too, according to the complaint.
His charges are pending in Bledsoe County Criminal Court.
In January, Bowen was detained a second time for walking through the city with an allegedly obscene flag.
“The flag on the pole read, ‘F— Biden and F— you for voting for him,” the complaint said. “The sign on the pole stated, ‘If you don’t like my flag, you can kiss my rebel a–.”
Byrd allegedly told Bowen he was going to jail, handcuffed him and placed him in the back of a patrol vehicle. But he was released about 30 minutes later without any criminal charges.
“Based upon Byrd’s and Decker’s conclusions that the above-described stickers, flag and sign are constitutionally obscene, Bolin and Bowen are currently subject to being seized and cited whenever they drive and/or walk within the city limits of Pikeville, Tennessee,” the complaint said.
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The city’s police department allegedly never enforced this law before arresting Bolin once and Bowen twice, the complaint said.
Officers are being accused of violating both men’s right to free speech and expression, the right to assemble, the right to petition the government for redress of grievances and the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.
Byrd and Decker also allegedly failed to properly investigate the allegations against the men, the complaint states.
The men are requesting a 12-person jury trial and an unspecified amount of money to cover damages for serious mental and emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life and a diminished reputation in the community.
Byrd, Decker and City Recorder Debra Barnett did not immediately respond to emails and a voicemail requesting comment.
Contact Sofia Saric at ssaric@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476.