Posted on 01/23/2008 11:31:08 AM PST by HD1200
CLEARWATER - The 75-year-old grandmother who was arrested Thursday at a McDonald's on a charge of disorderly conduct gave an officer lip, according to a police report. Jean Merola swore at the officer and said, "You are an evil man. Your wife is going to divorce you. Your kids probably hate you too. You are going to hell," according to the report.
Officer Matthew Parco was behind Merola in line and had received his drink; he asked her to move up so he could get around her but she didn't respond. Parco spent about 20 minutes asking Merola to move the car before she was arrested.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
“I would presume that she paid for the “unsalted fries” and was told by the people at the window to move up so that the people behind her could proceed...which she apparently was unwilling to do.”
No, she moved to where they directed.
How 'bout if she just moves up until her special order is ready like everybody else at McDonalds all over the planet?
Having said that I have yet to see a McDonald's in the world or other fast food restaurants that will fail to ask you to move forward in special food order and the food will be brought out to your car. That is a reasonable request and entirely within the rights of the restaurant to do so in order to keep the line at the drive-in window moving.
But why was she blocking the drive thru?
“these peaple were in a ‘fenced in’ type
of drive thru, or could move to the right?”
Not fenced in, the right side is all open parking lot.
100% out right lie, the stupid cop should have minded his own business.
Good point. As people get older, the ability to react quickly diminishes. We move at an ever-slower pace; this should be taken into consideration.
In the future, instead off running the risk of making bad situations worse, maybe the this officer should try also, using something other than only [default] power of authority, you know, like maybe a brain?
Agree!!
The Cop WAS MINDING HIS OWN BUSINESS:::
City of Clearwater Municipal Code 21.11(2)
(2) Obstruction of public places. It shall be unlawful for any person after first being warned by a law enforcement officer to willfully obstruct the free, convenient, and normal use of the Pinellas County Trail or of any public or quasipublic sidewalk, curb, bicycle path, walking area, mall or that portion of private property utilized for public use, so as to endanger the safe movement of pedestrians or vehicles thereon; and no person after being warned by a law enforcement officer shall willfully block or obstruct, or willfully prevent the free access to the entrance to any building open to the public.
In PA she's allowed to do 15 mph under the posted limit in the passing lane. I guess every state has their own standards.
Hello! The cop was blocked in by the old lady
I imagine that it's even possible that, once the stubborn old lady started causing trouble [be impeding the flow, at the drive-thru window] someone there may have exacerbated the situation, once they saw that a police officer was involved? If any thing deliberate like that occurred, then they sure were not doing the poor cop stuck dealing with the mess, any favors!
Did you read the story?
The property owner’s representative told her to move her car and that the food would be brought to her.
She refused.
End of story.
She’s in the wrong from that point on. She does not have the right to block a businesses lawful business activities.
And nowhere does it say it took 20 minutes to get her fries. She was simply being stubborn at everyone else's expense.
Drive thru lines are like that. Do I get to cap the next person that is holding me up in line?
Isn't the positioning of cars in a drive thru the business of the McDonald's manager, vice a moving violation?
I greatly suspect that if the person in front of him in line had been a 300 pound biker, the cop would have just waited until the biker got his food and left.
“But why was she blocking the drive thru?”
According to what the Mayor said on TV the cop approached her because he thought she was illegally parked. Not because she was blocking anyone. The cop had moved his car right behind her car. She could not move forward and could not move backward without hitting his car.
Its my guess that she lost control and said things she regrets. We’ve all done that. I’m guessing the cop is regretting iniating this incident by honking, waving and yelling her for illegally parking in a place where she was legally parked.
If you say so.
Those facts weren't in evidence in the original article posted which I was commenting on, however.
What? She was at the precise location that was downloaded to her GPS by the manager at McDonald's? These threads are comic.
Reason and logic would dictate that the cop had alternatives to the behavior he chose. He could have urged the restaurant staff to expedite the lady's order. He could have walked into the restaurant to order his own meal. He took advantage of the fact he is a cop and did what an ordinary citizen could not have done: arrest her.
I am aware of the real dangers that police officers face, especially in this big city where I live. And I have defended them in many cases. But this is instance is one of the officer purely throwing his weight around on an easy target, which is an abuse of authority. I do not respect that.
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