Posted on 08/04/2010 4:51:50 PM PDT by mdittmar
TAVARES, Fla. -- A Lake County mother was arrested at a childrens splash park after her white t-shirt got wet. Now, she's suing the city of Tavares over her arrest. She told WFTV police took an embarrassing situation and turned it into discrimination.
A hot day in April at the Tavares splash park turned into Janet Lovett's own personal nightmare. She took her 7-year-old son to cool off, but before the day was done she found herself behind bars, facing an arrest record for obstruction of justice and resisting arrest without violence.
I started shaking. I feel nervous. My son was inside park with husband. I was alone, she said.
A park employee asked Lovett to leave, because the white t-shirt she was wearing had become wet and her padded bra was showing. She says she left, but outside the park gate a police officer approached her and asked her for ID and her name.
Very scared, she said. I've never been arrested before."
The police report indicates Lovett didn't give her name fast enough. The mom says she was scared and wanted to know why she was getting arrested.
Lovetts attorney, Howard Marks, is demanding those same answers from the city. He says the police had no legal right to ask Lovett for ID, because no crime had been committed.
If they were wearing a bra, it's not illegal in the state of Florida. It's not indecent exposure. It's not a crime, Marks said.
Marks intends to sue the city for violation of civil rights, false arrest and malicious prosecution. He thinks there was more to her arrest that day than the outfit that was deemed inappropriate.
Either the police were so lacking in training and so incompetent to the law or trying to ID someone who was a potential illegal alien, Marks said.
Lovett is a U.S. citizen.
The city of Tavares said it does not comment on pending litigation. The police chief told WFTV his officers operated within policy that day
“it would have been smarter for the cops to exercise restraint and simply escort her to her car and see her off. “
kinda hard to show her who the man is if they exercise common sense.
I’m only here for the pictures. Where are they?
The Tavares Splash Park is city property not private property.
You are the one that referred to post 75 not 72. I had nothing to do with that.
And I understand the law. Are you trying to piss everyone off tonight? Started drink early?
My point was that who knows what happened? The title of the article indicates she behaved in Disorderly Conduct. Did she or did she not?
Sheesh, I’m not paid to be the moderator here. I was just trying to be nice.
In defense of whoever you are argueing with, city property is private property. IF yoiu are asked to leave, you haul ass. Much like buses, libraries, etc.....
Should greatly reduce the bra sightings in that county.
LOL OK, if you say so. ***eyes rolling***
Yeah, I think my energy has expired on this thread. LOL... I think everyone is debating unknowns.
The ownership status of the park is not unknown. Not to me.
“To: OldDeckHand; driftdiver
Chill out guys. Were talking boobies here.
79 posted on Wednesday, August 04, 2010 8:54:45 PM by goseminoles
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 75 | View Replies | Report Abuse]”
You posted and copied me on a post that I wasn’t in, just correcting the point.
“Are you trying to piss everyone off tonight?”
No just you, its my point in life to piss you off.
“Started drink early?”
Stopped beating your wife?
I think the arrest was bogus. People get wet in water parks and from the story she wasn’t exposing herself. Parks are expensive so getting kicked out ruins the day.
“The Tavares Splash Park is city property not private property.”
Well that answers the trespassing question.
Your arguement was “private property”
Go to a municipal pool and refuse to leave and act “disorderly”. You go to jail(If that was the case)
I think so. If city property isn’t public property then I guess only privately owned businesses on privately owned land are considered public property if they think they can allow tobacco smoking there.
I’m not married. And I agree. I think this women did a) nothing wrong or b) we’re getting “bamboozled” here.
In this instance, you pull the woman aside and see what the problem is.
I’ve seen much worse behavior in Fl. In front of cops(wet t-shirts). Its not illegal in Fl like her lawyer says...
No hard feelings...
I simply cannot imagine that a simple wet tshirt was the issue since she had a bra on. I don’t see how that would cause a rational person to kick her out.
But it's not private property. And buses are public conveyances not real estate and subject to a lot of laws and regulations that a park would not be so that's a non-sequitur argument.
I'm sure this is how it went down -
- Employee tells woman to leave
- Woman refuses to leave
- Employee calls police, and employee tells police woman won't leave
- Police ask woman for ID, which is their right because they're investigating a trespassing call.
- Woman refuses to give ID
- Police say, give us you're name, or we're going to arrest you
- She asks, "Why?"
- Police arrest her for "obstruction of justice and resisting arrest without violence"
This could have been handled better by all parties. And, they just could have handcuffed her and escorted her to the park exit, and been done with it. BUT, I'm not entirely unsympathetic to the police, either. It's private property, and if the owner doesn't want you there - for whatever reason - the police are going to remove you. They're not their to litigate a private property or civil rights dispute.
As you say, they have more important things to worry about. If the woman would have left when she was asked to leave, she wouldn't have been arrested.
She did leave.
But the police caught her outside the park and questioned her. Then they arrested her because she would not give her name or show ID when asked by the police.
Bottom line (in my humble opinion) - is that unless you are prepared to get arrested, booked, kept in a cell, bailed out, appear before a judge, pay an attorney, etc. is to comply with the nice officer when he asks for ID and to explain what you were doing.
Keep the anger inside, and once out of the situation with the police, then seek out an attorney (if you don't already have one) and use that pent up anger to seek damages from the person or persons who told you to leave and then called the police on you.
From article:
...A park employee asked Lovett to leave, because the white t-shirt she was wearing had become wet and her padded bra was showing. She says she left, but outside the park gate a police officer approached her and asked her for ID and her name....
The police report indicates Lovett didn't give her name fast enough. The mom says she was scared and wanted to know why she was getting arrested.
Lovetts attorney, Howard Marks, is demanding those same answers from the city. He says the police had no legal right to ask Lovett for ID, because no crime had been committed.
If they were wearing a bra, it's not illegal in the state of Florida. It's not indecent exposure. It's not a crime, Marks said.
I don’t either and it was a padded bra to boot. They mention that she was wearing a ‘white t-shirt’ as if that’s an important factor. I think the employee had a bug up his/her arse about her for some reason and the cop was a jerk.
Its simply amazing the number of women who will wear white tops and/or shorts to the water parks.
“They mention that she was wearing a white t-shirt as if thats an important factor. “
White tends to become transparent when wet.
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