A 17-year parade performance veteran can’t march again for six months after his behavior toward President Barack Obama.

Did he give the commander-in-chief the finger? Quite the contrary, Ohio fireman John Coleman is accused of being overly friendly at Obama’s Jan. 20 celebration on Pennsylvania Avenue.

“We returned from Washington and in the parking lot in the bus, I was told I was receiving a six-month suspension for conduct unbecoming the band,” Coleman tells Cleveland TV Channel 5. “I just was told this was a military parade and I was not to salute the president – which I did not – and I happened to glance over at the booth and see if the president was even in the booth reviewing. Contact was made with our eyes both together and he smiled and waved at the band and, just as a gesture, I nodded my head. I gave him a slight wave and went on. With the president, I could not just ignore him.”

There’s some debate about whether Coleman threw in a wink at the new prez – he says he didn’t, but video appears to show otherwise. Does Secret Service know about this drum major menace?