Earlier this year, a vacationing lesbian couple were arrested on charges of assaulting a police officer, and who have since filed a lawsuit. So what really happened?
As far as I can tell from my research, what actually happened was a police officer didn't approve of the mild personal displays of affection (PDA) of the couple, Courtney Wilson and Taylor Guerrero.
According to the tale, the ladies were grocery shopping at a local food mart on the second day of their vacation, when "Officer Bobby Harrison, who was shopping in uniform, "observed their consensual romantic contact and, in a loud voice, ordered plaintiffs to stop and 'take it somewhere else.'" And it wasn't even a remotely obscene "romantic contact." In the U.S., at least, I doubt any jury would convict someone of lewdness for a hug and a kiss.
Later on while they were shopping, the officer saw the two being affectionate again and "threatened to have them thrown out of the store." When the couple finally got to the register, the officer grabbed Wilson's wrist, purportedly saying "'You girls don't know how to act. You don't know the difference between a motel and a grocery store.'"
Guerrero attempted to get between the officer and her girlfriend, Guerrero was shoved and kicked the officer on her way down. The women were restrained with the help of store employees, and were charged with felony assault on an officer, after which they ended up spending three days and jail with a bond of $12,000. They managed to get out after paying $1,300 each.
Which led to another problem. They were required to stay in Honolulu as condition of their release.
"In the meantime, they had to stay with family friends or strangers they befriended. At one point thought they would have to go to a homeless shelter. They found jobs cleaning vacation rentals."
The charges were eventually dropped. The Honolulu Police Department has finally launched an investigation into the incident, but Officer Harrison has remained on duty ever since the initial confrontation.
While I am very much pro-police, I can certainly understand why many people are suspicious of them. That an officer would behave in such a deplorable manner is utterly reprehensible. This is 2015. Gay marriage is legal. One can only hope that justice is served for these women who have been the victim of injustice. The LGBT community has just as many rights as any other group of people.
So what are your thoughts on the incident? Tell us in the comments section below!
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