Driver Jailed After Taking Nickel's Worth of Electricity - plugged car into son's school

[Liberal_in_LA]

Driver Jailed After Taking Nickel's Worth of Electricity
Cops say he plugged into school's juice without permission

(Newser) – Here's a weird twist in the brave new world of electric cars: A driver ended up in jail on theft charges after plugging into a school's outlet without permission. The kicker: He got maybe 5 cents worth of juice for his trouble, reports 11Alive. The mess began when Kaveh Kamooneh drove to his son's middle school in Chamblee, Ga., to watch his kid play tennis. He spotted an exterior outlet and plugged in his Nissan Leaf, only to get stopped by a police officer after about 20 minutes.

The officer filed a report, and police showed up on Kamooneh's doorstep 11 days later to arrest him. He then spent 15 hours in jail. Kamooneh acknowledges he didn't ask permission to juice up, but he adds that it was a Saturday morning and nobody was around. "A theft is a theft," says an unsympathetic police sergeant. Maybe so, but "if electric cars are to become more commonplace, so too must locations for emergency booster charges," observes Lindsay Abrams at Salon.

http://www.newser.com/story/178642/driver-jailed-after-taking-nickels-worth-of-electricity.html?utm_source=part&utm_medium=united&utm_campaign=rss_top

[villager]

1. More evidence that police are the enemy

n/t

[GKirk]

8. pfffttt..

...damn cops enforcing laws and crap...

[villager]

12. over a nickel!?

Sod off.

How much in taxpayer resources were wasted to enforce this "nickel" thievery.

[Egalitarian Thug]

70. That's nothing but stupid, counter-productive harassment. n/t

[struggle4progress]

20. Or maybe evidence that some Paulite investment advisors feel entitled to take without paying

[villager]

22. actually, with this many taxpayer resources wasted over a nickel

...the people "taking" from us aren't the guy (probably singled out for his "funny name&quot arrested for this "Grand theft."

But you are reliably on the side of the powerful once again, in complete opposition to to your avatar.

[struggle4progress]

33. Feel free to provide evidence police singled him out for enforcement based on his name

Last edited Thu Dec 5, 2013, 02:08 AM - Edit history (1)

He says he, his son, and the tennis instructor are the only ones there when he brings his son for tennis lessons, but we can probably rule all three of them out as the person who called the police to complain -- which suggests somebody else called the police, in which case the complainant probably didn't know the man's name. Since he says he routinely recharges his car while his son takes lessons, it might be more reasonable to suspect that the complainant got increasingly pissed at seeing somebody plug into the school outlet and finally called the cops. They didn't really get in much hurry to charge him, either: they talked to folk at the school and most likely the complainant as well as some lawyers, then transferred the matter to the county sheriff, since the man doesn't live in Chamblee

UPDATE: Some of this may be incorrect: see #63

[villager]

35. It's hilarious -- perhaps just sad -- you're going to this much effort to defend police overreach

...over a nickel, on a complaint not even filed by the place the nickel's worth of juice was stolen from.

Have you thought of using Inspector Javert as an avatar, instead?

[struggle4progress]

42. There are multiple theories of criminal prosecution. Not all prosecution is based on balancing

Last edited Thu Dec 5, 2013, 02:08 AM - Edit history (1)

"harm done" versus "cost of prosecution," though it can sometimes be a reasonable consideration. Another reason for some prosecutions is pure deterrence

You seem quite sure the man only stole five cents worth of electricity. That's his estimate, for this one occasion, in which he was interrupted by police. As the Leaf is estimated to get 3 mi/kwh, you seem to believe the man only intended to steal enough electricity to go 3 miles. But he said he uses the outlet all the time -- in which case it seems reasonable to suspect that for some time he's been routinely getting his Leaf fully charged while his son plays tennis, putting us well into the monetary range of low-end shoplifting for which people are arrested as a matter of course

UPDATE: Some of this may be incorrect: see #63

[villager]

46. Your theory seems to be "believe the police, always"

Mine is: Is this overreach really worth a nickel?

Couldn't have been handled with a written warning, say, first?

A pitiful waste of taxpayer resources. And pitiful applause for that waste, and overreach, scattered throughout this thread.

[struggle4progress]

48. pfft. You're sympathetic to a Paulite "investment advisor" who makes good money but feels entitled

to save a bit here and there by petty theft from the local school system

[villager]

50. What is it with this site's rightwingers and the use of "pfft" all of a sudden? Some new un-talking

...point?

Meanwhile, it wasn't the school that asked for the arrest.

[DragonBorn]

54. Have you ever charged your cell phone at work?

Then you should be sent to prison for stealing your companies electricity. Took a pen home from work? Arrested for stealing company property.

The school is a public building, the sockets where outside and exposed, not locked away somewhere. When you are at a public building it is implied you are allowed a reasonable use of the facilities; such as drinking from the water fountain, or using the restroom. Which ::GASP:: cost the school a couple of cents.

An electrical socket is the same concept. Its implied consent or else the socket would be behind a lock and key. This man had a legitimate right to be on the property and as such had a reasonable use of the facilities. Some of the authoritarian mindsets on this board frighten me. You seriously support this man being arrested over .05 cents of electricity? Do you think this mans job is coloring your opinion of him since you obviously use it as a slur without even knowing him?

[struggle4progress]

55. An unlocked electric socket is implied consent?

[DragonBorn]

56. I see you dodged my question

LAW BREAKER!!!!!

And the rest of my post. Try responding with your words next time.

[struggle4progress]

58. Never having had a cellphone, I've never charged one at work. But I think there might be questions

if one day I brought in nine or ten thousand cellphones and proceeded to plug them in

[DragonBorn]

71. Try again

You obviously don't know much about electricity. The total amount of power to run an iPhone for a YEAR is about 1kWh which costs about 12 cents. Which is the amount of electricity you’d need to power ten 100-watt incandescent lightbulbs for an hour.

So try again.

[struggle4progress]

73. So your estimate is a bit below 2.75 wh/da for the cellphone, which I'll take as 2.75wh/charge

The Nissan Leaf battery holds 24Kwh

24Kwh/2.75 wh is a bit shy of 9000

So charging the Nissan Leaf is like charging about 9000 cellphones

I must say it always surprises me when people can't do simple arithmetic like this

[struggle4progress]

39. Your theory of who is powerful, and who is not, may not entirely reflect social realities

[GKirk]

2. I'm not against him being fined for this...

...it would be like my neighbor running an extension cord to my house.

[Niceguy1]

53. especially when he did it on a regular basis

which i think is the key part of the story and why he was charged. Its theft

[Sheepshank]

3. We should also be allowed to use school copy machines.....

their postal mail metering devices....and what the heck use their dumpsters for all of our home remodelling projects. Why not?

[cloudbase]

4. Arrest everybody who charges a tablet or phone at school. n/t

[struggle4progress]

5. If he's smart, he'll find a good lawyer who works out a deal for him where he apologizes and

donates a few hundred bucks to the school library: the school doesn't want everybody dropping by for free electricity

[BlueStreak]

6. Is he a taxpayer? Whom is he stealing from?

It isn't like the Principal owns the school.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

7. if he is allowed to use the outlet

then in some places, by law, all other people have to be able to use the facility for that purpose as well. just because he 'paid for' the copier in that school doesn't mean he can go in and start making copies...

sP

[BlueStreak]

10. Seems like it might be an interesting legal question.

As a taxpayer, he is part owner of the school, isn't he?

I'm not saying he should be allowed to do this. I'm just saying the the concept of stealing is a little murky when a person is, in effect, stealing from himself.

And to further complicate things, was his son participating in an official school tennis activity, or was he just using the tennis courts on his own? I have done that on occasion before. Should I have been arrested for "stealing" the use of the tennis court?

[ProdigalJunkMail]

11. no, because he IS stealing from the taxpayers where the electricity is concerned

it doesn't matter that he IS one. i think this is a tempest in a teacup... the officer could have simply let him know that it isn't acceptable and the matter would likely have been over.

on the tennis courts, the matter is a little different. many schools will allow you to use their facilities that are not CURRENTLY BEING used (like running tracks and tennis courts) but they generally will not allow you to turn on the lights at those facilities. i would wager, though, if it can to contention over their use, they would stop everyone from being able to use them.

they really should come up with a policy. i would love to see more public access to paid charging stations... drop in $.50 or a $1 and charge for a couple of hours... would work great in metered parking areas...

sP

[struggle4progress]

18. Police showed up following a citizen complaint, so other taxpayers may not share your view

[Fumesucker]

9. That makes up for all the banksters who got away scot free with billions

Justice is finally served.

[villager]

13. +1

n/t

[struggle4progress]

16. Perhaps, then, it will fill you with joy to learn that this dude is an "investment adviser"

[Fumesucker]

24. Hey, they got Al Capone for tax evasion

Everyone has done ~something~ they could be locked up for, even if only briefly.

As I said, justice is served.

[joeybee12]

14. Thank God they'll spend hundreds of dollars charging and maybe trying the guy...

To get that fucking nickel back!

[struggle4progress]

17. They'll spend the money to make sure others won't line up at Chamblee Middle School to steal power

[joeybee12]

21. That'll teach them...and stop drinking from those water fountains, too!

Gee, maybe the cop should have told the guy to knock it off, but that wouldn't be enough for you, would it?

[struggle4progress]

23. The police chief says if the guy had just apologized for not knowing better and indicated he'd stop,

Last edited Thu Dec 5, 2013, 02:09 AM - Edit history (1)

nothing further would have happened. What he did, instead, was argue with the officer (who was there only in response to another citizen's complaint about this activity), saying that he thought it was an accepted practice and that the officer shouldn't care; when asked, he admitted he hadn't sought permission

He says he only took five cents worth of electricity. The dude apparently makes a good living as "investment advisor" -- he can afford a Nissan Leaf and tennis lessons for the kid and a regular twenty mile drive for the tennis lessons -- but he's so hard-up he has to steal power from a school? Assuming five cents is a KWH, that'll get him about three miles in his Nissan Leaf. He admits he's done it repeatedly before

Maybe the dude is just another asshole with a sense of entitlement

UPDATE: Some of this may be incorrect: see #63

[joeybee12]

30. Maybe the police officer lied...oh wait, they never do that, do they? nt

[Redford]

61. I'm going with asshole with a sense of entitlement

His kid probably goes to a private school where he would not think of ever doing such a thing

[struggle4progress]

15. Ga. Man Arrested for Charging His Electric Car at Local Middle School

Dec. 4, 2013
By SUSANNA KIM

... Kaveh Kamooneh, 50, admits that he had charged his car multiple times on the school's property ... A statement from Chamblee Middle School said, "On Sat., Nov. 2, 2013 a local citizen contacted the Chamblee Police Department with a complaint that an electric car was plugged into the power outlet of Chamblee Middle School. The Chamblee Police investigated the allegation and subsequently arrested the owner of the electric car. The DeKalb County School District has cooperated in the investigation and will continue to do so." Because Kamooneh didn't live in Chamblee, the case was given to the Dekalb County Sheriff's department ... Marc Johnson, police chief and city manager of Chamblee, said, "Bottom line: if he had just said, 'Sorry I can just unplug,' there wouldn't have been a report" ...

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/ga-man-arrested-charging-electric-car-local-middle/story?id=21098590

[Poll_Blind]

19. Two key points, one obvious and one maybe not so obvious to everyone:

First, the article indicates that the police did not ask whether the school wished to press charges. Red flag number one. "Theft by taking without consent."

Second, and an even bigger red flag, IMO, is that after filing the police report eleven days elapsed. What does that mean, though? Why is that important? Well, during those eleven days at least a police officer or police officers took a look at that, weighed their options carefully, conducted some form of investigation and considered that they were making a solid arrest which would, presumably, not bring shame onto their department. Which is nonsensical. As Kamooneh pointed out, the "Theft by taking without consent" when applied to drinking water from a spigot (something which he alleges he witnessed, coincidentally) is the same thing- and yet the police had no interest in pursing that matter.

Why?

That's a great question, IMO. I'm thinking the answer to that question is either known to the police chief and that if I could wave a magic wand, I'd find out that they were in some discussion with prosecutors/council about it before moving ahead.

Will this blow up in the Chamblee police department's face? Since the school did not indicate whether it wanted to press charges (hint: Probably not) this makes the police and their higher-ups in the department look pretty damned shady.

Selective enforcement of laws like this is always a dead giveaway there's something else going on.

PB

[struggle4progress]

26. There was a citizen complaint, which resulted in the officer response. Between the initial encounter

and the arrest, the police say the school cooperated with the investigation; it's a county school system, so the legal consultations may have involved school system officials outside Chamblee. As the man lives ten miles away in another city, jurisdictional issues appeared: the matter was finally transferred to the county sheriff

[Blue_Tires]

44. That "citizen" who found it necessary to call the cops over this was a dick

I'm betting the call was made by someone with a grudge against the driver...

And FUCK the yokel cops or the school system or anyone else who never thought to add a little common sense during this whole charade...DeKalb is a notoriously corrupt county and this we're-pretending-to-do-our-jobs-so-you-don't-notice-we're-robbing-the-county-blind bullshit sounds exactly like them...

[struggle4progress]

47. The guy doesn't live in Chamblee and says nobody's ever around when his kid's taking lessons,

Last edited Thu Dec 5, 2013, 02:10 AM - Edit history (1)

except him, the kid, and the tennis instructor -- so it's not clear why anybody in Chamblee would have a grudge against him

UPDATE: Some of this may be incorrect: see #63

[Blue_Tires]

51. Yeah, he couldn't possibly have former colleagues, associates, ex-wives or whatever

living in an Atlanta suburb different than his own...

Or maybe it's simply another school parent or classmate of his son...

[Vashta Nerada]

25. Would the cops arrest if he was charging a cell phone or if he plugged in a laptop?

This is insane.

[stevenleser]

37. That is the key and I would bet the answer is "no". I'll bet kids do it all the time.

As another poster said, if I go to visit my child for parent teacher conference day, do I need to ask to use the water fountain? The bathroom? All of those involve using resources that cost money.

The dad was there to see his kid just like any of the above examples.

[struggle4progress]

62. He takes the kid to the tennis court for Saturday tennis lessons & says nobody is ever there except

him, his kid, and the tennis instructor

So, except for the fact that his kid and the instructor are using the outdoor tennis court adjacent to the track and across the parking lot from the school building, it's not clear that this really has much to do with Chamblee Middle School

UPDATE: Some of this may be incorrect: see #63

[struggle4progress]

63. ... Wednesday evening, Chamblee City Manager .. Marc Johnson issued the following statement:

... Sgt. Ford showed a photo to the school resource officer who recognized Mr. Kamooneh. Sgt Ford was further advised that Mr. Kamooneh had previously been advised he was not allowed on the school tennis courts without permission from the school . This was apparently due to his interfering with the use of the tennis courts previously during school hours ... Sgt. Ford did make the decision to pursue the theft charges .. based on Mr. Kamooneh having been advised that he was not allowed on the property without permission. Had he complied with that notice none of this would have occurred. Mr. Kamooneh's son is not a student at the middle school and he was not the one playing tennis. Mr. Kamooneh was taking lessons himself ...

http://www.11alive.com/news/article/314666/40/Electric-car-owner-charged-with-stealing-5-cents-worth-of-juice

[PumpkinAle]

27. Commonsense and courtesy

no longer requirements to become a police officer.

If the officer had used either of these this would be a total non-issue.

[GladRagDahl]

28. Petty Theft

Is still theft

[gollygee]

29. I'll have to be careful not to have a drink of water

next time I'm at one of my kids' schools.

[joeglow3]

72. Drinking fountains are installed with the expectation that you will use them

Most outlets are not installed with the expectation that you will pull your fricking electric car up and charge it there.

[Hosnon]

31. Unless there is a cover or a sign prohibiting use, it's no different from a water fountain.

This is ridiculous. I would fire whoever authorized this investigation and arrest.

[struggle4progress]

34. Apparently, the matter involved several jurisdictions: Chamblee police did an initial investigation

but then handed the issue over to the county sheriff, since the man doesn't live in Chamblee, and it took over a week total before the decision to prosecute -- so there's no one-person rush to judgment here

[Hosnon]

36. The arrest is still completely unjustified.

"De minimus".

[struggle4progress]

45. I know a guy who was arrested for stealing a $3 CD. Is that de minimus, too, in your view?

Last edited Thu Dec 5, 2013, 02:11 AM - Edit history (1)

This fellow says he regularly tapped the school plug for his car while his kid was playing tennis. Two episodes of charging his Leaf could take us beyond $3

UPDATE: Some of this may be incorrect: see #63

[villager]

49. Presumably, you told the guy arrested for the $3 CD that his arrest was for his own good,

society's good, etc.?

Presumably, you wanted to see him sent to jail, to send an even stronger message?

[struggle4progress]

52. Perhaps you have a problem with reading comprehension: I'm hoping it's not actually hallucinations

since you continue to attribute to me views that I have never expressed, such as "believe the police, always" or "his arrest was for his own good"

[villager]

57. There are instances where you don't axiomatically take the side of the police?

Or, say, the NSA?

Please proceed...!

[struggle4progress]

60. Here. If you want to win political fights against (say) the NSA or anything else you think corrupt,

you need to attend to facts more than to your opinion, even if your intuitions happened to be extraordinarily accurate

However important your opinions might be to you, or mine to me, the simple bottom line is that hardly anyone gives a flying fuck what you think or what I think: they are all full of their own opinions, and they will flee back into the refuge of whatever opinion is their own, if given the slightest excuse -- whether the excuse is that we present bullshit as fact, or that we argue irrationally, or that we are abusive and unpleasant, or that we express our opinions without listening to theirs, or almost anything else they can come up with

If you want to win real political fights by moving people to your side, that's the first pitfall to avoid. Unfair as it may seem, one cannot win long-term political fights without being well-informed, logical, and pleasant; and similarly, one cannot win by indulging much in pure opinion, since arguments about opinions are nearly guaranteed to be inconclusive

Stories like the one in the OP are dime-a-dozen: the stories mostly come with a particular slant, and they're designed either to keep us glued-to-the-tube so we'll watch the commercials or else busily clicking at the website so we're exposed to the ads. Such stories are posted regularly at DU and at other internet sites, and the main reaction is almost always predictable head-shaking and tongue-clucking -- from which the readers learn zilch and by which they have absolutely no real political effect. This is, in fact, one of the mechanisms by which the status quo currently reproduces it's power, moment by moment: it distracts people into useless arguments over opinions, misleading us into believing that we have done something by forming and holding an opinion -- when actually we have done nothing real. Worse, we will usually learn nothing from the activity

I would suggest to you the slogan: Facts first, analysis second. There is nothing wrong with your anti-authoritarian instincts, and I think that if you make a habit of really digging facts carefully, you will find those instincts may often suggest useful questions, often leading you to facts that are helpful to you as you seek to construct intellectually honest and persuasive arguments

Let me give you an example. A year or two ago, there was a story posted here about a fire department that stood by and watched somebody's house burn down because he hadn't paid an annual fee. The usual head-shaking and tongue-clucking ensued. I had to read a lot of different news accounts to discover the real story -- and it was interesting:

There was no county fire department; there were four fire departments in four towns in the county, paid for (in each case) by local taxes in those towns, but receiving no county funding. The town fire departments had, in many cases, put out fires beyond town limits, but their placement made it impossible to provide adequate and timely emergency services for the entire county; and voluntarily providing unpaid services outside the towns was straining the departments financially. This matter was brought repeatedly to the county commissioners (all Republican), who did not want to raise taxes and therefore ignored the fact that much of the county was too far away from the town fire departments to be within a timely response zone. Federal matching grants were available for a county fire department, but the county commissioners decided not to pursue that option. The "solution," that the county commissioners devised, was that the town fire departments should offer annual subscription fire services to persons outside of town. Some town fire departments decided that was an inadequate solution and announced they would no longer service areas outside town; the rest offered such services. Fire departments can send bills to people who use their services, but state law does not allow fire departments to sue persons to collect unpaid bill. The person, whose house burned down, lived outside of town, had called the town fire department several times in the past to put out fires, had received bills for those services and never paid them. The town fire department, following the only option given it by the county commissioners, now offered an annual subscription service: the person, whose house burned down, did not subscribe, but his next doopr neighbor did. At the time of the fire, there was a statewide ban on open burning, due to dry conditions. The person, whose house burned down, instructed a child in the family to go burn trash outside -- then left, with the child unsupervised, and that resulted in the fire. There being no hydrants in the area, the fire department, when called, brought its tanker truck and concluded that if the fire spread, the truck had only enough water to protect the house of the neighbor, who had bought the annual subscription and not the house where the lot was on fire. The department therefore devoted its energies to being sure that the fire did not spread to the adjacent property. Interviews with the firemen indicated that they were very unhappy about the situation but didn't see any other option. The county commissioners, in interviews, scolded the town fire department

This was, at least, politically instructive: the county commissioners had neatly set up the town fire departments as fall guys for the county commissioners' complete failure to work out adequate fire services for the county, so every time the problem of inadequate services showed up in the news, the commissioners could frame the tiny town fire departments

The case of Mr Kamooneh does not strike me as being nearly so interesting. As far as I can tell, his routine ripoff of electricity over various days probably doesn't exceed $15, which is not a great chunk of change, and his bail was accordingly set low at $150. He probably could have avoided even that, if he'd simply told the officer he hadn't realized he was doing something illegal and apologized. Instead, he made a point of standing on his imagined right to charge his car on the school system's dime, and a number of people (after scratching their heads a while) seem to have decided it would be a good idea to disabuse him of this notion. I expect he will get a minimal fine and/or community service, plus court costs, if he is not smart enough to try to work out a painless plea bargain. I do not see here a valuable opportunity to take a principled stand supporting Mr Kamooneh's petty theft

[villager]

65. well, s4p, thank you for the kind words about my intuition!

I found this reply of yours intriguing.

Shockingly, I actually agree with some of it -- namely, the keeping of perspective that the world at large doesn't give the flyingest of fucks about what either of us is posting here.

Yet we want to move that world "a millionth of an inch," as a book title once had it, presumably -- both of us agreeing -- in a fairer and kinder direction.

I just see this particular episode as a complete waste of police resources. They really have so little to do, they have to go arrest this guy nearly two weeks after plugging in his electric car? Have we become that petty?

It's that pettiness that speaks large volumes about where we're at as a people.

As for your example about the fire department, well, I'd be interested in a link or citation. Even if a cascading series of bad decisions resulted in a "reason" that particular fire department had to watch that house burn, the episode strikes a chord because it speaks -- like the police overreach here -- about the kind of people, overall, we're becoming.

Even if a series of behind-the-scenes budget cutbacks and bad county decisions led to it, it still speaks to the present juncture: The lack of institutional kindness, the petty meanness of enforcing "the letter of the law," etc.

Especially because, at this same historical juncture, the big laws -- the ones that might affect, say, a one-percenter -- well, those don't get enforced. Not with the same regularity, or enthusiasm.

So this episode signifies, perhaps, even more than its facts.

[struggle4progress]

66. According to the latest statement by the city manager, Kamooneh had previously been told

by school officials he could not use the tennis courts without permission, after various run-ins with school authorities about his usage interfering with planned uses by students. The city also says the decision to prosecute was based in part on the fact Kamooneh was again on school property without permission. And, in contradistinction to Kamooneh's version of events, the city version is that Kamooneh was the one playing tennis, not his son

You're entirely free to decide what you think about this case, but I would again say that winning the political fights always depends on convincing people, and that requires a firm grasp of actual facts, a logical presentation of the facts, and a sympathy for listeners, including those who disagree with you but might be persuadable

There were a bunch of threads on the Obion county fire case; here are a few:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9249735
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9259067
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=9263093&mesg_id=9263093
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9263353
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=9270451&mesg_id=9270451
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9269236
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9273315
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=1787

[villager]

67. It is still overreach, especially given that it was a police decision -- not a school one --

to "prosecute."

Send the guy a letter Put a locking cover over outside sockets, if you have to.

This is just Kafka-esque bureaucratic overreach, even if the guy turns out to be kind of a dick. Though we're not sure. Another report you cited said he was taking lessons there on the court. Who was teaching them? Are lessons routinely taught there?

Is there something wrong with the public using the courts when school isn't in session? Etc.

Again, a waste of taxpayer resources because too many overly-tight sphincters have too little to do.

[Glassunion]

32. What is the limit?

The line in the sand so to speak?

I don't feel that he should have been arrested, but instead he should have his day in court to just face the fine (up to $750).

[B Calm]

38. Did he need electricity to get home? Was it an emergency? Or was he stealing from tax payers?

[Hosnon]

40. "stealing from tax payers"

If I plug my cellphone into the wall while I wait at the DMV, is that something we as a society should use law enforcement resources to end as well?

[struggle4progress]

43. He told local news he plugged in there all the time

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

59. yea, those cars like 220 for optimal charging

the standard outlet is 110 volts which will take twice as long charging time. Ok so, the home plug in is 220 volts on a dedicated circuit which means the power source feeds only one thing in one place. like the gfi circuit for a hot tub or the whirlpool bath required by electrical code.

The outdoor plug no doubt is hooked up in a 110 volt series connection , meaning powering more than one outlet. The dude without asking ,say a school maintenance guy ,simply assumes it is a Saturday so no other outlet or on that circuit is in service so to him that meant the source of power was all his to be had.

The car no doubt requires maximum draw on a commercial 20 amp. circuit. He didn't throw the circuit breaker so he figured he was good to go at his pleasure. If he had thrown the breaker the first time,he will parked his car far away from the plug because he will have had no way of knowing what else he cut power to.I don't know what the max draw is on those electric cars ,I haven't looked that far into it. But I doubt his dollar and cents assessment is correct. But it must be considerable if it pulls from oh,say a 40 amp draw in 220.

Yer right, he's a self centered freaking jerk who beleives he is entitled and arrogantly so.

[IDemo]

41. And just think of all the coal smoke that belched out of a nearby powerplant

the instant he plugged it in. To hear some people describe EV's, anyway.

[struggle4progress]

64. Wednesday's statement from the Chamblee City Manager is interesting:

... Sgt. Ford showed a photo to the school resource officer who recognized Mr. Kamooneh. Sgt Ford was further advised that Mr. Kamooneh had previously been advised he was not allowed on the school tennis courts without permission from the school . This was apparently due to his interfering with the use of the tennis courts previously during school hours ... Sgt. Ford did make the decision to pursue the theft charges, but the decision was based on Mr. Kamooneh having been advised that he was not allowed on the property without permission. Had he complied with that notice none of this would have occurred. Mr. Kamooneh's son is not a student at the middle school and he was not the one playing tennis. Mr. Kamooneh was taking lessons himself ...

Electric car owner charged with stealing 5 cents worth of juice
6:00 PM, Dec 4, 2013
Doug Richards

[struggle4progress]

68. Cops alleged electric car owner stole $10-25 worth of electricity

7:11 PM, Dec 4, 2013

... "I'm not sure how much electricity he stole," Sgt. Ernesto Ford of the Chamblee PD said tuesday. "We couldn't determine the amount. But it was less than a hundred bucks" ... Kahmooneh says he routinely plugs his car into publicly accessible outlets. ''I took the electricity without permission," Kamooneh said. "Normally the value is so little you don't typically ask permission in these cases" ...Kahmooneh is getting no backing from the victim in this case ... The school system issued a statement saying "the Dekalb County school district has cooperated in the investigation and will continue to do so" ... A spokeswoman for the DeKalb solicitor's office said a decision hasn't been made whether to prosecute the case ...

http://www.11alive.com/News/Crime/314774/445/Cops-alleged-electric-car-owner-stole-10-25-worth-of-electricity

[rainbow4321]

69. My daughter's movie theater won't even let people plug in their cell phones

When there is one of the blockbuster movie (lines out the door/indoor campers) the management has been known to order customers who have their phone charging to pull the plug out from the outlets that are in the lobby and in the hallways.
They probably wouldn't hesitate to call over the off duty cops who patrol the place if they could get away with it.

[MineralMan]

74. Well, see, that's really stupid.

If it were my theater, I'd install charging stations for cell phones and provide free wi-fi inside the theater. The cost is minimal and the goodwill is substantial. Business owners who pinch pennies by inconveniencing customers don't usually do well for very long. Smart business owners offer free perks for their customers and build loyalty.

Here's a great idea for theaters: Put a USB outlet on every seat arm. Let the folks charge their phones and stuff during the movie. "Turn off your phones and charge them at your seat!"