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 key here is that she touched him..
I dont know about their laws there but most places the cops Cannot touch you before they have a reason to.
Oh, that's been going on for quite a long time... A KCMO TV station got into a lot of hot water for hooking up with a "police brutality activist" who tried very hard to get beaten up while trying to be arrested by Independence, MO police. He had a hidden microphone and camera on him, and there was a crew from the TV station in the police station parking lot. Basicly, it was a rep from a group looking to sue cities, and a TV station that was out to make some news, rather than reporting on it.
Mark
outrageous......
“...and makes me wonder why it’s legal.”
It’s not in the Saudi kingdom. Maybe we should adopt their form of govt?
I don't need to read any more. Same here.
Why would they want to go after real criminals? That could get them hurt. Putting a half nude woman in plan sight, then arresting excited men is easy money.
If I was him I would charge the female with assault. She “kicked” him with a foot to the shoulder. This is entrapment.
sure sounds like John Law BS to me.
Why wasn't she arrested for that?
How many MS-13 crimes in Columbus went unsolved while this rabble of idiot cops wasted time ruining this brave man’s life?
Using boobs to arrest boobs is not fair.
anyway, here's what i think happened: the cops were there looking for HOMOSEXUAL MEN having sex with each other in the bushes. notice the story says they were looking for MEN having sex and masturbating. this woman was not a cop and she was not working with them. i think the cops were checking her out and they happened to see this.
but it's just a weird story either way.
I AGREE!
They’ll never get it to stand up in court.
Bookmark your posts 35 & 38. Police should not be in the business of creating crime.
Hmmm, I thought the woman was a cop. If she wasn’t, then he is busted and it’s NOT entrapment. Wonder what the grounds for appeal are then?
A Homeland Security earmark of $40billion for the program, no doubt.
Indecent exposure in a public place qualifies as perverted. That goes for the woman, too, as far as I’m concerned.
police can not get past the rules by “using” a civilian.
She would be subject to the same rules as the police. It is even more suspicious if the police are directing her. This type of BS happens all the time with drug stings using a dealer turned states evidence.
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