Ogden City and a Salt Lake man who tried to warn motorists of a speed trap have settled their differences out of court.
Alan Dayton sued the city last August in federal court, alleging Ogden police violated his constitutional rights, including his right to free speech, when they demanded he put down a sign, which read "Speed Trap. 25 MPH," and leave the hilly stretch of Old Post Road where the officers were working.
Dayton claimed that in an ensuing scuffle, the police officers hit him in the neck and placed him in a headlock, rendering him unconscious.
A year ago, a 2nd District judge dismissed three criminal charges against Dayton, including misdemeanor counts of obstruction of justice, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.
Judge Michael Glasmann said Dayton had been parked legally and that in order to prove obstruction of justice the city needed to show proof that the sign was actually slowing down traffic.
"A person has a right to freedom of speech and holding up that sign," Glasmann wrote.
In his federal lawsuit, Dayton was seeking unspecified damages for medical expenses, emotional distress and attorney's fees from a federal judge.
What he and Ogden City settled for was $19,000, according to the city's attorney, Allan L. Larson.
"We figured it would be a lot cheaper than defending it," Larson said. "But the city did not admit any wrongdoing. Basically, everybody on both sides now can go about their business."
Dayton is currently deputy mayor of Salt Lake County.
Neither Dayton nor his Provo attorney, Randall K. Spencer, returned calls for comment.
Larson still insists that doing what Dayton did constitutes obstruction of justice under state law, although he acknowledged it's an "unsettled area" legally.
"I'd just caution people to let law enforcement do its job," Larson said.
E-mail: mtitze@desnews.com