Mom To Sue After Wet T-Shirt Leads To Arrest

WFTV ^ | August 4, 2010 | WFTV

[mdittmar]

TAVARES, Fla. -- A Lake County mother was arrested at a children’s 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.

Lovett’s 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

[ArmyTeach]

Good quote. Can you cite it?

[ArmyTeach]

I really have to ask. Is there a legally defined time limit for producing legal ID? Me, I'd have to take a minute to dig around in my bag for my card case, and in he interim the police might decide to be concerned that I was going for a gun.

[TigersEye]

I don't know if any jurisdiction has an actual time limit enshrined in a legal statute. I doubt it. But she said her ID was in her car and then was not allowed to retrieve it which seems problematic for the cop's standing.

If you have a gun in the same container as your ID you better inform the officer about it first or it might be trouble. lol

[US_MilitaryRules]

Ayn Rand

[ArmyTeach]

Ah. That would be right...