DOYLESTOWN, Pennsylvania (AP) -- A man who wrote a vulgar message on the memo line of a check he used to pay a $5 parking ticket has apologized in writing, leading police to drop a disorderly conduct charge against him.
David Binner sent the check after receiving a $5 parking ticket. He calls it "a temporary lapse of judgment."
Clerks were offended by the message, and the disorderly conduct charge was filed because the comment was obscene, police Chief James Donnelly said.
"He was contrite enough to offer an apology, and I think that satisfies the people who were insulted by it," he said.
The lawyer for David Binner, 45, said his client would have prevailed if he went through a trial.
"The F-word isn't what it used to be," attorney Keith Williams said. It doesn't have a sexual connotation anymore and so can't be considered obscene, he said.
Williams said his client felt bad about what he did and will pay the parking fine and court costs.
"This is not my normal nature and admittedly was a temporary lapse of judgment on my part, vented in a moment of frustration," Binner wrote in his letter of apology.
There might some justification to the statement about the "F" word not being as negative as it used to be. Lately, my wife and I have seen several movies where they seem to think the "F" word is to be used profusely as just another "normal" word. Perhaps this ia generational issue, but I find this desensitizing to be disenchanting...sigh.
