Police chief wants no exposed buttocks

FLINT, Mich., June 27 (UPI) -- The new police chief in Flint, Mich., has a new policy on low-riding pants -- those that ride low enough to expose the rear end can lead to arrest.

Interim Police Chief David Dicks said that he has been getting a lot of complaints from Flint citizens sick of looking at buttocks, Newhouse News Service reported.

"This immoral self-expression goes beyond free speech," Dicks said. "It rises to the crime of indecent exposure/disorderly persons."

Dicks said that any police officer who spots someone with pants that hang too low and show too much can make an arrest. Those caught in the act face up to three months in jail and fines of up to $500 if convicted.

Greg Gibbs, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union, said that people tempted to test the limits should realize that not all clothing is protected by the First Amendment.

Critics of some attempts to ban sagging pants have suggested that the effort is racist because the style is most fashionable among young blacks.