A Quebec judge found a Beaconsfield man not guilty of criminal harassment and uttering threats after he flipped the middle finger to his neighbour. .“To be abundantly clear, it is not a crime to give someone the finger,” said Court of Quebec Justice Dennis Galiatsatos in a ruling. .“Flipping the proverbial bird is a God-given, Charter enshrined right that belongs to every red-blooded Canadian.” .The ruling said Beaconsfield resident Michael Naccache was performing renovations on his house’s front staircase with a jackhammer in 2021. It said Naccache thought he heard a sound through his earplugs. .He turned around and saw his neighbour Neall Epstein, who appeared to make a comment. Epstein kept walking while staring at him, giving him the finger. .He crossed his arms and gave Naccache the finger moments later. Naccache alleged he made a throat-slashing gesture as he walked away. .He stopped doing the renovations and called the police to report what he perceived as a threat to his life. He reported what he considered to be months of harassment, as Epstein and him had been feuding for months. .Epstein said he was out for a long walk that day. He accused Naccache of holding up his jackhammer in a threatening way and telling him he was dead. .Frustrated with this immature display, he swore at him and proceeded to give him the finger as he walked away. As he made the gestures, he swung his right arm horizontally and outwards in a dismissive manner. .He denies he made any throat-slitting gesture. After his walk, he returned home to find police officers waiting for him. .The ruling said Naccache had installed four closed-circuit cameras filming the front of his house at all times. For three months in 2021, he monitored the cameras for any signs of the accused and his family. .The event which allegedly triggered the focus on the Epsteins was an altercation. Naccache alleged Neall tried to record his family while passing by on the street on several occasions. .Galiatsatos said the court believes Epstein. He called his answers “spontaneous, unrehearsed, simple, consistent with the video evidence, and inherently realistic.”.The ruling went on to say he thinks Epstein did not make a throat-slitting gesture. The video footage on this incident was vague. .It said the court does not believe Naccache. It rejects his testimony as rehearsed, evasive, and untruthful. .From early on in the case, the ruling said it had become clear he loves to exaggerate and misrepresent..Galiatsatos said offending people is not a crime. He added offending people is “an integral component of freedom of expression.” .The evidence in the case showed after the accused’s arrest, Naccache had called the police to report his wife for giving him the finger while walking on the street. The ruling asked for this to stop. .It concluded by saying in modern-day vernacular, people often refer to court cases being thrown out. This is little more than a figurative expression. .“Nevertheless, in the specific circumstances of this case, the Court is inclined to actually take the file and throw it out the window, which is the only way to adequately express my bewilderment with the fact that Mr. Epstein was subjected to an arrest and a fulsome criminal prosecution,” said Galiatsatos.
