Lady gets ticketed for swearing at her toilet

[ironhorse]

Heard this on the radio this morning.. Not sure where it was. A lady whose toilet overflowed was upset and started swearing at her toilet. well seems her bathroom window was open. An Neighbor, an off duty LEO, told her to stop. She did not . She faces fines and a possible 90 probation. Not sure what exactly was said , but I bet it had something to do with the stuff on the floor. Seems as though some leo 's are taking thing s a bit to far. She was sighted for a public distrubance .

[markheck1]

Heard this on the radio this morning.. Not sure where it was. A lady whose toilet overflowed was upset and started swearing at her toilet. well seems her bathroom window was open. An Neighbor, an off duty LEO, told her to stop. She did not . She faces fines and a possible 90 probation. Not sure what exactly was said , but I bet it had something to do with the stuff on the floor. Seems as though some leo 's are taking thing s a bit to far. She was sighted for a public distrubance .

And you thought this was a free country....Silly Human

[ca2pa]

LOL.. i mean, if my toilet is overflowing, id be pissed of too. Since the LEO is here to protect and serve his community, i would have asked him to help me fix the problem after giving me the citation. LOL

[Zef_66]

Yeah, I heard this on Bob & Tom...that is where I get all my news from.

It said she was from West Scranton. And the charges were a little more than public disturbance. I will see if I can find the article.

Edit:

Article from the Time Tribune:

West Side woman faces jail time for swearing at toilet
BY KIMM R. MONTONE
STAFF WRITER
10/16/2007

A West Scranton woman could face up to 90 days in jail and a fine of up to $300 for allegedly shouting profanities at an overflowing toilet while inside her Luzerne Street home.

Dawn Herb, whose potty mouth caught the attention of an off-duty police officer, was charged with disorderly conduct recently, prompting her to fire off a letter to the editor and vow to fight the charge.

“It doesn’t make any sense. I was in my house. It’s not like I was outside or drunk,” said Ms. Herb, who resides at 924 Luzerne St. along with her four young children. “A cop can charge you with disorderly conduct for disrespecting them?”

The obscenities hit the fan when she battled her overflowing toilet around 8 p.m. Thursday, she said.

Although Ms. Herb doesn’t recall exactly what she said, she admitted that she was frustrated and let more than a few choice words fly. Unfortunately, it was near an open bathroom window.

“The toilet was overflowing and leaking down into the kitchen and I was yelling (for my daughter) to get the mop,” she said. “A guy is yelling, ‘Shut the f--- up,’ and I yelled back, ‘Mind your own business.’ ”

Her next-door neighbor, Patrick Gilman, a city police officer who was off-duty at the time, apparently had enough of Ms. Herb’s foul mouth and asked her to keep it down, police said. When Ms. Herb didn’t stop, he called the police.

Patrolman Gerald Tallo responded and charged Ms. Herb with disorderly conduct.

The citation accuses the defendant of using obscene language or gestures “with intent to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm or recklessly (creating) a risk ...”

“There was no intent to do anything,” Ms. Herb said. “I just feel so violated and irritated ... I don’t even have a criminal record.”

Efforts to reach Patrolmen Gilman and Tallo were unsuccessful.

Scranton Public Safety Director Ray Hayes said if anyone feels they were unjustly accused, they can address it before a judge.

“At the end of the day, the opinion that counts is of the magisterial judge,” he said. “It may be something open to interpretation. The officer has his own and this person had the opposite opinion.”

The use of obscene language or gestures is an offense under the state criminal code. But cursing at a police officer isn’t a punishable offense, said Mary Catherine Roper, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union based in Philadelphia.

“It cannot be the basis for a citation. You can’t prosecute somebody for swearing at a cop or a toilet,” she said. “We bring one of these cases a year and sue some police departments because they do not remember that they are not the language police.”

Contact the writer: kmontone@timesshamrock.com

[thirtyonebravo]

i saw a headline on that earlier, didn't pay any attention to it, but I didn't realize it was in her own home. granted the window was open, but I hardly call that very public of a disturbance.

Sounds more like the LEO needs to sit through class time for probation, going over ordinance law definitions and whatnot. While he's at it, brush up on PA guns laws too just for good measure.

[markheck1]

I would think she should file a citation on the neighbor for exactly the same thing....he shouted an obscenity at her as well...

[RocketFoot]

Sounds like a neighbor dispute escalated into a violation of rights because the off duty cop used his FOP buddies against her! If you or I called the police and said the neighbor was swearing...they would have told us to get bent! Another case of Jack Booted Thugs!

[bradjc72]

how does that one line go in this one song I have heard before?

"......land of the free??????????"

something like that

[billamj]

Sounds like a neighbor dispute escalated into a violation of rights because the off duty cop used his FOP buddies against her! If you or I called the police and said the neighbor was swearing...they would have told us to get bent! Another case of Jack Booted Thugs!

It has nothing to do with Jack Booted Thugs and everything to do with Jackass neighbors. Not all cops are idiots, don't paint them all with such a broad brush. We don't know what the moron off duty cop told the desk when he called in, he could have lied through his teeth and they took his word because he is a cop. What we do know is that his story and hers are apples and oranges, lets see how it all gets ironed out. Personally, I detest the ACLU on several levels but in this case I hope that they take up the call for this woman and sue the crap out of the neighbor.

[thirtyonebravo]

Personally, I detest the ACLU on several levels but in this case I hope that they take up the call for this woman and sue the crap out of the neighbor.

the ACLU should stand for American Commie Leftist Union