Posted on 10/16/2007 8:26:58 AM PDT by John Cena
A West Scranton woman could face up to 90 days in jail and a fine of up to $300 for allegedly shouting profanities at an overflowing toilet while inside her Luzerne Street home.
Dawn Herb, whose potty mouth caught the attention of an off-duty police officer, was charged with disorderly conduct recently, prompting her to fire off a letter to the editor and vow to fight the charge.
“It doesn’t make any sense. I was in my house. It’s not like I was outside or drunk,” said Ms. Herb, who resides at 924 Luzerne St. along with her four young children. “A cop can charge you with disorderly conduct for disrespecting them?”
The obscenities hit the fan when she battled her overflowing toilet around 8 p.m. Thursday, she said.
Although Ms. Herb doesn’t recall exactly what she said, she admitted that she was frustrated and let more than a few choice words fly. Unfortunately, it was near an open bathroom window.
“The toilet was overflowing and leaking down into the kitchen and I was yelling (for my daughter) to get the mop,” she said. “A guy is yelling, ‘Shut the f--- up,’ and I yelled back, ‘Mind your own business.’ ”
Her next-door neighbor, Patrick Gilman, a city police officer who was off-duty at the time, apparently had enough of Ms. Herb’s foul mouth and asked her to keep it down, police said. When Ms. Herb didn’t stop, he called the police.
Patrolman Gerald Tallo responded and charged Ms. Herb with disorderly conduct.
The citation accuses the defendant of using obscene language or gestures “with intent to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm or recklessly (creating) a risk ...”
“There was no intent to do anything,” Ms. Herb said. “I just feel so violated and irritated ... I don’t even have a criminal record.”
Efforts to reach Patrolmen Gilman and Tallo were unsuccessful.
Scranton Public Safety Director Ray Hayes said if anyone feels they were unjustly accused, they can address it before a judge.
“At the end of the day, the opinion that counts is of the magisterial judge,” he said. “It may be something open to interpretation. The officer has his own and this person had the opposite opinion.”
The use of obscene language or gestures is an offense under the state criminal code. But cursing at a police officer isn’t a punishable offense, said Mary Catherine Roper, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union based in Philadelphia.
“It cannot be the basis for a citation. You can’t prosecute somebody for swearing at a cop or a toilet,” she said. “We bring one of these cases a year and sue some police departments because they do not remember that they are not the language police.”
A koran might have been in it as well...
It was the neighbor cop who yelled “Shut the F*** Up!!”??
Why shouldn’t he be charged with disorderly conduct?
Colored?...........You RACIST!!!..................../s
Seems the guy (the off-duty policeman) should face charges too.
I caught that too, I guess some pigs are more equal than others.
It's not illegal, but it's very annoying. To me, it is like those people who pull up alongside you with those horrible loud stereos playing horrid music and have their windows rolled down .. its their right to free speech. Or ugly old men who parade naked in the parks, because it is their right to free speech. Or people who stand at an open window and shout beligerant curses for you and your family to hear, because it is their right to free speech.
Forcing people to listen to your stereo music is unreasonable. Nobody takes their children to the park to subject them to the view of a fat, ugly, naked old men. Thats unreasonable. And if you want to cuss, don't force me to listen to it. I don't think children should be FORCED to listen to a filthy mouth. It's unreasonable.
I'm sorry .. but your rights end where mine begin.
I think everyone in this town should call the police when their toilet backs up from now on. They apparently have protocol and training that more qualifies them than the average citizen.
The NYT gave a discount to a group calling an active General a traitor, and this woman gets arrested four hurling four letter names at her toilet. America turned upside down.
She’d better be careful not to invite her husband to have sex with her in the bedroom if he’s in the bathroom when she propositions him.
I better go into hiding now.
Really though, it’s so funny because when something like this happens, cursing isn’t gonna make that toilet stop the turds in the river flowing into your kitchen. She should really be cursing the 3 gallon toilets and the stupid laws that preCURSED them, or just give herself a curtesy flush. (That’s what I do-I don’t pretend that mine don’t stink :) !!!!!!!!!!!!
She was cursing at a low-flush toilet. That is a hate crime against Gaia and the environment. A very, very serious state matter.
Apparently free speech is as alive in Scranton as it is on FR.
Anybody care to test this by walking up to the next cop they see and saying “F*** You.”
I saw a YouTube clip of someone who did that on a dare. Ran up to the cop, gave him a double rigid-digit and shouted something to that effect, "Pig".
The result wasn't pretty.
What kind of idiot would do that to ANYONE, and not expect some kind of response?
Note to self: Do not curse toilets when in Europe.........
Take it to court. When the judge hears it, he or she will throw it out.
Where it belongs
What was that silly joke about the guy standing outside a public toilet thinking his wife was still inside, saying, “you’re a peein?” A gruff voice answers, “no, American!!!”
What part of no violence posts do you not understand?
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