Posted on 12/28/2007 6:50:23 PM PST by Roberts
Firefighter Busted for Exposing Himself to Sunbather Appeals 'Entrapment' Conviction
Robin Garrison, an off-duty 42-year-old firefighter, was walking in Berliner Park in Columbus, Ohio, in May when he saw a woman sunbathing topless under a tree.
He approached her and they started talking and getting comfortable, the woman smiling and resting her foot on his shoulder at one point.
Eventually, she asked to see Garrison's penis; he unzipped his pants and complied.
Seconds later, undercover police officers pulled up in a van and arrested Garrison; he was later charged with public indecency, a misdemeanor, based on video footage taken by cops who were targeting men having sex or masturbating in the park. While topless sunbathing is legal in the city's parks, exposing more than that is against the law.
The case is just one of the more extreme examples of police stings aimed at luring people into committing crimes, a tactic that has resulted in hundreds of arrests, many convictions and plenty of controversy.
Law enforcement officials say that such sting operations are an extremely effective means of lowering crime rates and stopping the criminally minded before they commit worse offenses. From early 2006 to the spring of 2007, there were 160 citations for public indecency in the city, according to an investigation by 10TV News. Among those who were caught in the stings: an Ohio State University doctor, government employees and a retired highway trooper.
But such operations veer dangerously close to entrapment, say lawyers, civil libertarians and defendants who've been caught in sting operations.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
“the woman smiling and resting her foot on his shoulder at one point.”
Either the woman had very long legs, or the gentleman was height challenged.
And you know what they say about short guys with big feet and noses don’t you?
Maybe he was just trying to get Willy a suntan ...
Yup.
How much is the government paying for her services?
Based on the video, he was sitting down cross-legged (or “indian style”, if you will), and she was lying down, resting on her elbow, and raised her foot to rest it on his shoulder.
MISLEADING HEADLINE ALERT!
A man who pulls out Mr. Wiggles on the invitation of a topless, adult woman is not a pervert. He may be drunk, he may be stupid, he may be fuddled with lust ... but the natural, non-perverse, outcome is for adult men to be eager for sex with adult women.
...would you do it IN THE PARK?
...would you do it WITH A NARC?
...I would not, could not, in the park;
...I would not, could not, with a narc.
LOL!
Asssuming he’s not Moslem ...
I would not, could not, with a goat;
I could not, would not, in a boat!
I see the problem. Every single state in the union has countless sanctions for things like a traffic cop at speed trap. That sanction doesn't even involve an act of will, just an obvious act of government greed. So WTF, at least the government has found a willful act.
The police need to be careful. Pretty soon there are going to be people who will be trying to flush out would-be “police brutalizers”. And it will all be caught on tape and become very expensive for the cities and officers.
It is legal in a lot of places. It just isn't a well known. And even the places where it is explicitly illegal, people have had success challenging it since a woman can ask the judge why it is illegal for a woman to remove her shirt but it isn't illegal for a man to remove his shirt. Additionally, many of the places where it is illegal have clauses that state "for the purpose of sexual gratification" or something similar. Obviously topless sunbathing wouldn't meet that clause. But perverts flashing in public would.
I need to see pictures of the female officer inorder to pass judgment on entrapment.
According to a recent Ohio appellate case, State v. Bowshier, 2007 -Ohio- 5364 (Ohio App. Dist.2 10/05/2007, entrapment requires two elements: “the criminal design originates with the officials of the government” — check — “and they implant in the mind of an innocent person the disposition to commit the alleged offense and induce its commission in order to prosecute” — check. Sure seems like entrapment to me.
NOTICE: I am NOT your lawyer, and this is NOT legal advice. Do not act or forebear from acting based on the information in this post!
It would have been something if the firefighter was a cop and arrested her on the spot after she asked him to unzip.
Also, if this is entrapment, I hope he seeks criminal charges and civil remedies under one of my favorite clubs when I read such jaw-dropping stories, 18 USC 242, Violation of Civil Rights Under Color of Law (normal police and gov’t immunity does NOT apply).
“However it seems that topless sunbathing attracts perverts and makes me wonder why it’s legal.”
Ever been to Europe? Not just topless is allowed all over the place, but the whole kit.
They don’t seem to have huge problems with perverts over there, either, I’m not sure why.
“Mr. Wiggles”?????? LOL!!
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