Woman gets maced after refusing to turn off cell phone in theater.

[terrya]

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0728041cell1.html

[Q3JR4]

1. That's just wrong.

People need to, like, lighten up.

[BlueJazz]

17. There's more to the story....

I live in St. Petersburg. The couple were asked several times to stop making so much noise by several people.
Only after they told a elderly white couple to "Fuck you..Shut your white-ass up"
did the shit start...

[Rabid]

2. Great

the charge?

"Phoning while Black"

Hope they take the cop's badge for that.

[bbernardini]

6. NOT "Phoning while black"!

Phoning while obnoxious and stupid, yes.

[Rabid]

18. Do you honestly think

the pig would have peppered a White Male doing the SAME thing?

No way.

[TXlib]

19. The couple in question became abusive and threatening.

Yes, I think a cop would have maced them if white. I really don't think race was an issue here. Extreme rudeness, poor anger management, and 'felony PoP' (Pissing off the Police) were the key factors here.

On Edit:

http://www.sptimes.com/2004/07/27/Southpinellas/Movie_d...

If this is true, I rescind my comments above. The officer should face penalties.

[Rowdyboy]

3. Kind of extreme reaction for "Catwoman"

Now if it was F911-I might be tempted the pepperspray, but "Catwoman"-like he said, lighten up

[Tosca]

4. Too many people think they're the center of the universe.

People need to like, shut up in a theatre.

[Massacure]

5. If he said he was going to kick the guys ass he deserved the pepper spray.

It was a reasonable request to ask them to stop talking.

[WI_DEM]

7. anybody who will go on talking in a movie theater on a cell phone

whether they are white, black, brown, red, pink, green or orange should be removed from the theater if they don't mind a reasonable request to turn off the cell phone and stop yacking. If the officer was threatened by her male companion then he may have been justified to use the pepperspray.

[TreasonousBastard]

8. Mace everyone...

who makes any noise in a theater.

No cellphones, beepers, boomboxes, or talking with your no-account bottomfish friends.

Mace 'em, take 'em out back and whup their sorry asses, and then take on their mamas for not bringing them up right.

[TXlib]

20. deleted

deleted

[yellowcanine]

9. Headline is misleading - the mace was used after the woman and her partner

got belligerent and started threating the police officer.

"Harris announced that "she could talk as much as she wanted on her phone," according to this police report. In short order, Tolson, 25, joined in, allegedly telling Officer John Douglas that he would kick the cop's ass. The report quotes Harris as saying she would "hit the cracker in his head."

Sure this is the police officer's version of events - hopefully there were witnesses.
As a general rule it is probably not helpful to tell a police officer that you are going to kick his ass or hit him in the head.

[Romulus]

11. witness says no threat was made

http://www.sptimes.com/2004/07/27/Southpinellas/Movie_d...

"The man turned and asked the officer why he was making them leave," Gray said, "and the cop just maced him in the face. They weren't yelling or touching him. The man bent over and the girl asked why he maced her boyfriend. Then the cop maced her, and she dropped her soda."

*snip*

"I found another officer and gave him my statement, because these kids did nothing wrong. I have no emotional ties to the kids. I was just there."

Representatives from the St. Petersburg Police Department did not return repeated phone calls Monday.

*snip/more*


But some on DU will say the police are always right, no matter what, and they never make stuff up after the fact to justify what they do (not you, yellowcanine, I'm talking about others I've encountered).

People with no criminal record, and not intoxicated, are really going to tell a police officer, to his face, that they are going to kick that police officer's ass?!?!

[truthspeaker]

12. The is was a friend of the accused.

I don't believe the police are always right, not by a long shot. But in this case we have a clue that the accused is prone to act belligerent: she talked on her cell phone in a theater and ignored several demands to leave.

[TXlib]

21. There were two witnesses.

Only one knew the accused. Both said the two's behaviour did not warrant the officer's reaction.

[TX-RAT]

13. I'd still wait for the report.

[Mike Daniels]

16. Other reports state that the male had a record

Here's a link detailing the officer's account:

http://www.sptimes.com/2004/07/28/Southpinellas/Police_...

The male part of this couple has convictions for theft and assaults on school employees and another police officer.

The dude has a record of violence so perhaps there's more to this story than what was initially reported.

[TXlib]

22. Damn, that muddles it even more...

So the cop has a witness corroborating at least part of his story, right when he maced the woman.

The cop claims the guy yelled at the audience, but one witness (who knew him) said he did nothing in the theater.

They need to question the other theater goers from that day.

And if they can't do that, perhaps the best thing would be to drop the charges against the two, and let the inquiry into the cop's behaviour drop.

[Tosca]

14. What an idiot.

"Harris announced that "she could talk as much as she wanted on her phone,"

[Skittles]

10. cell phones in theaters are f***ing annoying

but mace? That's harsh.

[Barad Simith]

15. she got off light

there's no policy against using her cell phone in the lobby