A volunteer police officer who didn’t appreciate being called out for his alleged unfairness in the local media is to be awarded NIS 25,000 ($6,400 US), a Tiberias judge ordered. The volunteer, who did not appreciate the “shaming” of being compared to a donkey, sued after an argument with a driver that ended up placing him in an embarrassing situation

The incident occurred in June 2013, when the volunteer admonished a driver for parking illegally, in a manner that interfered with traffic. The volunteer approached the offending driver and asked for his license, but the latter refused – because the volunteer was not wearing a cap, as per regulations.

Several days later, the driver, who happened to be a writer in a local newspaper, included a story describing his experience, writing, among other things, that “the offender gave me a ticket but did not properly fulfill his police duties, because he was not wearing a cap on the job. When I was a child, the taught me that even a donkey doesn’t knock his head twice, since he has something in his head” – making him better than the volunteer.

A month after the story appeared, the volunteer filed a lawsuit against the driver, claiming that he was libeled. Despite finding for the defendant in several of the issues – for example, the volunteer should have been wearing a hat. However, the driver had no right to publish what he did, considering that it was his intention to embarrass the volunteer.