Friday, June 08, 2007

Woman arrested for giving dirty look to dog.


I have long argued that police officers in the United States need to be reigned in. They seem to think they have the right to arrest anyone for any reason they wish. Here is a bizarre example of a police officer going too far.

Jayna Hutchinson was arrested because she stared at a police dog. I know, I know, it sounds daft but this tells you something about the state of mind of American cops.

Vermont State Police Sargeant Todd Protzman, and other officers, were called to investigate a fight. Hutchinson, who was intoxicated, approached Protzman and said that one of the men involved in the fight had beaten her the night before.

Video of the incident then shows Protzman ridiculing Hutchinson over her looks. Protzman then arrested Hutchinson for looking at his dog in a “taunting/harassing manner” claiming this was animal cruelty. I guess the dog has a sensitive ego and one unpleasant look sends it into an emotional crisis.

Hutchinson’s attorney said that had she “been small and pretty and had been complaining of being assaulted, he [Protzman] may have done more to investigate her claims.”

After viewing a video of the incident prosecutor Will Porter dropped the charges.

The police officer wanted to ignore Hutchinson’s complaint. He had ridiculed her for her looks, something offensive in and of itself. And then he arrests her for giving a dog a dirty look.

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