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Woman faces jail time for swearing at a toilet
Times Tribune ^ | October 16, 2007 | Kim Montone

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.”


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: bathroompolice; donutwatch; leo; local; nannystate; obscenity; profanity; society; westscranton
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Since when do people get jail time for profanity? If this was the case, I'd be on death row.
1 posted on 10/16/2007 8:27:02 AM PDT by John Cena
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To: John Cena

~Speech, spelling and grammar police~, at your service in West Scranton.


2 posted on 10/16/2007 8:28:40 AM PDT by Freedom2specul8 (Please pray for our troops.... http://anyservicemember.navy.mil/)
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To: John Cena

F both of those cops.


3 posted on 10/16/2007 8:28:49 AM PDT by Psycho_Bunny (Islam is a clown car with guns.)
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To: John Cena

Next time, she wont answer the door...


4 posted on 10/16/2007 8:29:13 AM PDT by ßuddaßudd (7 days - 7 ways Guero >>> with a floating, shifting, ever changing persona....)
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To: John Cena
"...But cursing at a police officer isn’t a punishable offense..."

LOL That's nice to know.

5 posted on 10/16/2007 8:30:30 AM PDT by Freedom2specul8 (Please pray for our troops.... http://anyservicemember.navy.mil/)
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To: ßuddaßudd

She’s lucky the gestapo police didn’t shoot her.....or her dog....this scumbag should be kicked off the force...as should most of the scumbags sworn to “protect and serve”...


6 posted on 10/16/2007 8:30:49 AM PDT by Alright_on_the_LeftCoast
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To: John Cena
Since when do people get jail time for profanity?

They do if Dwight K. Schrute, volunteer Lackawana County Sheriff's Deputy, is on patrol...

7 posted on 10/16/2007 8:31:03 AM PDT by Lil'freeper (Don't taze me, bro!)
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To: John Cena

...and in her own home, to boot! Truth be known, there’s probably more to the story about exactly how well she gets along with her cop neighbor, who called one of his buddies in to confront her after she cussed the toilet. But still, this is just ridiculous and make Scranton’s police department look both petty and stupid.


8 posted on 10/16/2007 8:31:15 AM PDT by Virginia Ridgerunner
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To: John Cena
Scranton Public Safety Director Ray Hayes said if anyone feels they were unjustly accused, they can address it before a judge.

Just wait 'til Director Hayes is on the receiving end of that one...I bet his tune changes real quick.

9 posted on 10/16/2007 8:31:46 AM PDT by Oberon (What does it take to make government shrink?)
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To: ~Kim4VRWC's~

“...But cursing at a police officer isn’t a punishable offense...”

LOL That’s nice to know.”

Anybody care to test this by walking up to the next cop they see and saying “F*** You.”


10 posted on 10/16/2007 8:32:09 AM PDT by John Cena
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To: John Cena

Anti-Porcelain hate speech?........


11 posted on 10/16/2007 8:32:33 AM PDT by Red Badger ( We don't have science, but we have consensus.......)
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To: John Cena
Personally, I'd be in favor of never hearing any more of the profanity-ladened society (especially the younger folk who grew up viewing movies that use 4 profane words, three of which refer to various sexual acts, the other to excrement.

If a neighbor, who just happens to be a police office, can arrest a person for using profanity in one's own home, even when one's window is opened, the police state is here!

12 posted on 10/16/2007 8:32:37 AM PDT by zerosix (Native Sunflower)
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To: John Cena

What a poor use of the court’s time...


13 posted on 10/16/2007 8:33:49 AM PDT by econjack ("You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.")
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Comment #14 Removed by Moderator

To: Virginia Ridgerunner

In this woman’s defense, the overflowing toilet was giving her crap prior to her outburst.


15 posted on 10/16/2007 8:35:55 AM PDT by SampleMan (Islamic tolerance is practiced by killing you last.)
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To: John Cena

It happens in MI. foul language in front of a woman is a crime here.


16 posted on 10/16/2007 8:36:10 AM PDT by absolootezer0 (stop repeat offenders- don't re-elect them!)
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To: John Cena
“It doesn’t make any sense. I was in my house. It’s not like I was outside or drunk,”

In a country where one can get seven years in the slam for criticizing homos, not much makes sense anymore.

17 posted on 10/16/2007 8:36:18 AM PDT by Mr. Mojo (My other Telecaster is a Thinline)
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To: John Cena
The only reason she is being prosecuted is that the complaining party was a LEO. Really.

Complaints like this from ordinary citizens are--and probably should be--promptly ignored. But anything a fellow LEO wants, he usually gets.

18 posted on 10/16/2007 8:36:28 AM PDT by TChris (Cartels (oil, diamonds, labor) are bad. Free-market competition is good.)
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To: John Cena
Anybody care to test this by walking up to the next cop they see and saying “F*** You.”

Probably not a good idea. I've also determined that avoiding a speeding ticket by asking the cop: "What's the matter, is Dunkin Donuts closed?" is not a good idea, either.

19 posted on 10/16/2007 8:36:35 AM PDT by econjack ("You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.")
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To: Red Badger

Yeah, but was it a white or colored toilet?


20 posted on 10/16/2007 8:36:41 AM PDT by SaintDismas (.)
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