Posted on 10/08/2004 9:39:18 AM PDT by skyman
WASHINGTON -- A woman from Bowie, Md., who was arrested for eating a candy bar at a Metro station, had her day in court Thursday, but it was a brief visit.
Stephanie Willett claims she was frisked under her shirt, handcuffed and held for three hours after a Metro transit officer confronted her for eating a candy bar on the escalator.
Transit police claim Willett was "belligerent."
In court Thursday, Willett tried to tell a judge what happened that day, but she was cut off after a few minutes. The judge told Willett her case is over and that it ended when she posted $10 to get out of jail last July.
Willett has a year to appeal the arrest.
The incident gained worldwide attention, and goes on a list of other Metro Transit Police actions that have raised both eyebrows and questions.
In September, a transit officer reportedly forced a pregnant woman down on the floor and pushed his knee in her back, after he claimed she was talking too loud on a cell phone.
In 2002, an officer ticketed a wheelchair-bound cerebral palsy patient who the officer said cursed when he was unable to find a working elevator to exit the system.
And in 2000, an officer handcuffed a 12-year-old girl for eating a french fry on a subway platform.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbc4.com ...
She wasn't charged with anything. she was held in "protective custody". Also, she suffered an asthma attack while in handcuffs. They withheld her asthma medication while in jail. For those that dismiss this incident, know this: I was guilty. I paid the time, did the time. But what of my wife? Was that fair treatment for her? Just curious.
I agree with all six of your points.
Well, I just got into town about an hour ago
Took a look around, see which way the wind blow
-John Kerry
This is an honest question (not just to you, but to everyone, myself included). If you, personally (or anyone else reading) had approached the metro escalator with the last bite of a candybar in the wrapper and were told not to take it downstairs, would you have (a) shoved the last bit in your mouth and gone on downstairs or found a trash receptacle to put it in? Not a baiting question, anyone, just wondering what most folks here would do.
please turn yourself in to the nearest cop.
I wasn't dismissing, just inquiring.
"If an officer has to resort to violence with someone eating a candy bar or talking too loud in public, then there is something seriously wrong with the officer's methods."
You win the jackpot. Here in nyc I have been twice hassled and ticketed by overzealous transit cops over nonsense. In another incident I got hit in the head by a thug on the subway. When the cop showed up he refused to take a report as I had "no visible marks," but basically it was because he was too lazy to do the paperwork. Cops that engage in frivolous arrests should be fired and their pensions denied, as should cops that don't do their jobs. I say fire this candy bar patrolman.
I think you are smarter than that. Anyone breaking the law and looking for a fight with police is looking for trouble. She found it. It reminds me of the Democrat who ran over a Bush campaign sign only to discover an iron pipe behind it.
This happened in the Washington DC area subway system, not NYC. If any NYC transit police officer was dumb enough to try such a stunt, he'd likely end up on the tracks, pushed there by an angry mob who would all conveniently come down with amnesia when other authorities arrived to try to get the story and figure out who to arrest. Fortunately, NYC transit police have better things to do with their time than arrest people for snacking.
Well I guess that's one thing you and those on death row have in common.
In those few words you have summed up the issue: At what point is violence an acceptable course of action?
Violence is only justifiable in self defense, both legally and morally. In nearly every case I can think of, the first person to resort to violence is the 'bad guy'. And to resort to violence simply because someone disrespected you is one thing, but you would intentionally commit the ultimate act of violence simply because someone insulted you? Maybe you're just in a bad mood and its easy to say these things on the net, but if you really mean it, you're far more of a menace to the civilized society you claim to like than the person you would have killed.
Doesn't sound like it to me. Had she been drinking as well? If she had, they might have done her a favor (she would have been subject to arrest as well).
BPOC Syndrome? Can ya hep a brutha out?
I would honestly probably shove the rest in my mouth, but I would also probably be respectful to the officer and proceed on. My guess is that she probably did something to the effect of flipping the officer off as she proceeded on. I was always taught that you don't have to respect the person behind the badge, but you have to respect the badge. I always give the officer the initial benefit of the doubt, simply because getting snotty with a cop is NEVER a good idea.
People still eat and drink to their hearts' content on the NYC subways.
my dad's advice was always pretty straightforward and common sense oriented.
Don't argue with the guy holding a gun.
Go to a knife fight, you're gonna get cut.
Listen to your mother.
I have recently returned from a trip to DC and rode the Metro everyday of my trip. It is clean, free of graffiti, no sticky food scraps on the floor of the trains, no sticky seats, and nice and quiet.
Why would someone think they are so special that they can eat a candy bar while entering the Metro? And when asked to throw it out, didn't, crammed it into her mouth and then was bellingerent to the LEO? The DC Metro is an example of what public trans should be thru out our country because they enforce some simple rules. Most of them borne of courtesy to those who will ride with you or after you. I have no sympathy for this woman.
Yeah, I agree, that's what I would have done, too, but I also would have been respectful...that was the right thing to do. BUT...was she arrested for being disrespectful or for eating...that's the question that bothers me.
NICE AND QUIET? You sure we rode the same Metro? :-D Were you on during rush hour? I guess compared to NY, it is quiet.
Finally, the revolting cat appears to inject some sense into the conversation... or at least some sensible nonsense.
Most of us here are quite happy with the utter lack of food wrapper litter and spilled food debris on our Metro system. Then there are a few folks who think they're above the law. Like the female in the article at the head of this thread.
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