Edison Man Who Gave the Finger to Cops Collects 20 Grand. Who’s the Bigger Douche? [POLL]

You may remember the story last summer of the guy from Edison who, while walking out of a bar, and gave the finger to 4 New York City Police Officers as a sign of his dislike for cops in general.

He was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.

Long story short: the arresting officer never showed up in court, and the charges were dismissed.

However, the story has a happy ending for said gentleman.
He goes to jail (albeit for an hour) and gets to collect 20 grand.

According to this:

A township man arrested for flipping his middle finger at police officers will receive a $20,000 payout from New York City, according to the New York Daily News.
The city chose to give Robert Bell the payout to settle his federal lawsuit, the report states.

Bell, 26, had just left a West Village bar in August 2011 when four New York City police officers walked by. A moment later, Bell raised his middle finger toward the officers. He stated in his lawsuit that the gesture was an expression of “his dislike and distrust for police officers.”

A police officer witnessed the gesture and handcuffed Bell and charged him with disorderly conduct.

Bell, an information technology recruiter, said he spent an hour in custody.
The case was later dismissed when the arresting officer failed to appear in court.
Bell filed a federal civil rights suit against the city and the arresting officer, alleging his First Amendment rights were violated.

In a 30-page complaint, Bell’s attorney for the civil suit, Robert Quackenbush, contends the officer arrested his client "in apparent retaliation for this protected form of free speech."

“This is essentially a case of thin-skin,” Quackenbush said.

“It is not an indication of any police wrongdoing,” city attorney Ryan Shaffer told the Daily News.

So, in your esteemed estimation, who was being the bigger douche?