Posted on 08/29/2007 8:11:54 PM PDT by TornadoAlley3
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A foot-tapping ritual was a common thread in many of the 41 arrests reported during a four-month airport bathroom sting that snared Sen. Larry Craig. An undercover officer would take a seat in a stall. Soon another man would sit in the stall next door and start tapping his foot, perhaps moving it closer to the officer's. The officer would move his foot up and down slowly. The suspect might then extend his hand under the divider between the stalls, sometimes repeatedly. That would be enough to get the man busted.
Airport police reports obtained by The Associated Press gave strikingly similar accounts of the events that led to the 41 arrests officers made for alleged lewd conduct in public restrooms in the main terminal of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport during the May-August sting.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Chances are he’s probably guilty but what if the hand under the stall was accompanied by, “for the love of God, please pass me some TP, I’m about to miss my flight?” For that matter, the officer was in the stall for about 13 mins before the Senator sat down next door. Now ... what did the stalled officer know about the availability of other seats? I know sometimes all the doors seem closed and when you gotta go, you gotta go. Sometimes seeing a shirt through the door crack helps to rule out doors to try before assuming the throne. That was what I was thinking when I read the account up until the footsie stuff was described. But there is a slim chance for this to be a horrible misunderstanding. Then again, if that were the case, NFW would I plead guilty.
The part that is not clearly explained in the story is that the tapping is the guy stretching his foot under the stall and tapping his neighbor’s shoe. I didn’t get this until Craig made the story that this is all a big misunderstanding and he just has an extra wide stance while doing his business. He “accidentally” tapped the cop’s foot while this silly cop just didn’t understand that Sen. Larry was just practicing his extra-wide delivery method. What a pig!
“He also insisted he is not gay.”
Yes, but he did not insist he isn’t “bi”.
I wonder what his wife thinks when she kisses him - if she does....
Your Morse code was a little off. The correct version is:
tap tap
TAP TAP
TAP tap
TAP TAP TAP
TAP
TAP TAP tap
tap TAP
TAP tap TAP TAP
I have no doubt that Craig did this, but this is the first I’ve ever heard of this foot-tapping stuff. I’m pretty hyper-active so I’m sure I’ve tapped my foot in restrooms before. I’m never using a public restroom again.
Excellent point! Kind of like hiding in plain sight.
Being a vice cop can’t be easy. Imagine spending your working hours sitting on a potty waiting for gays to make a pass at you.
Devil's Advocate time again ... would you leave your luggage outside the stall or bring it in with you? The latter of course, lest someone spot it and either steal it or have the bomb squad blow it up as unattended luggage. Next, now it is in the stall with you ... where would you put it? Cramped in between the side wall and your leg, down near the bowl where the floor is probably wet, or as far away from you as possible where you have the most leg room and the floor is probably less soiled? And where it is most obvious to those outside that the stall is occupied?
Placing luggage in front of the door may well be where people put it to block the view of their perverted activities ... but it is where everybody else likely places it too.
Strange to be pointing this all out on the day of Richard Jewell's death.
My now gay brother says whistling a tune in the bathroom is “the signal”, not tapping your feet. If you are straight, it is probably just not a good idea to be reacting to music at all while in the men’s room.
I had heard, no confirmation yet though, that the officer had showed his badge under the stall and that the Senator then said, “Noooo!”
Yes, that is what the policeman said and is in the police report. Craig shouted No!! and ran without flushing or washing his hands. The cop stopped him at the door and he was arrested.
I appreciate your devil’s advocacy. Your point is well taken in the case of someone traveling alone. In Craig’s case, isn’t it likely that he had at least one assistant traveling with him who would be more than willing to watch his bag?
True. And I'd like to think that after a while, like anyone else, you get good at your job, and you start to learn what's what. I imagine that the cop could tell the difference between "restless leg" and "let's have fun". I'm sure he's done this before.
What they do is agree to meet at a certain time. They both walk into the same stall and step into the shopping bags. Does that explain it?
How low do you have to sink to want to have sex in a public bathroom. That dirty smelly metaphor for Socialism.
Did you write that? Very clever.
It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it. Then there is the thrill of victory when you reel in a big fish like a U.S. Senator!
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