Woman Arrested for Eating Candy in Subway
Eating en route to or while riding the subway here is a no-no. Stephanie Willett, a government employee, found that out the hard way recently. Finishing a candy bar on her way into a Metro station, she was arrested, handcuffed and detained for three hours.
Willett said she was eating a PayDay bar on an escalator descending into a station July 16 when a transit policeman warned her to finish it before entering the station. Both Willett and police agree that she nodded and put the last bit into her mouth before throwing the wrapper into a trash can.
Willett, a 45-year-old Environmental Protection Agency scientist, told radio station WTOP that the officer then followed her into the station, one of several in downtown Washington.
"Don't you have some other crimes you have to take care of?" Willett said she told the officer.
Washington has been under heightened security because of the continuing threat of terrorism. And last week, police declared a citywide crime emergency over rising juvenile crime.
The transit police officer asked for Willett's identification, but Willett kept walking. She said she was then frisked and handcuffed.
"If she had stopped eating, it would have been the end of it and if she had just stopped for the issuance of a citation, she never would have been locked up," Transit Police Chief Polly Hanson said Thursday.
Metrorail has been criticized in the past for heavy-handed enforcement of the eating ban. In 2000, a police officer handcuffed a 12-year-old girl for eating a french fry on a subway platform.
In 2002, one of their officers ticketed a wheelchair-bound cerebral palsy patient for cursing when he was unable to find a working elevator to leave a station. Unflattering publicity eventually led the police to void the ticket.
Willett was the second person arrested this year for eating or drinking, Hanson said. In addition, police have issued 58 tickets and given more than 300 written warnings.
Well, if she was simply arrested for eating candy in the subway, then fine, that sucks. However, ignorantia legis neminem excusat. But she was warned and blatantly ignored not only the law, but an officer who was enforcing the law. She should receive no sympathy.
Music Man wrote: Well, if she was simply arrested for eating candy in the subway, then fine, that sucks. However, ignorantia legis neminem excusat. But she was warned and blatantly ignored not only the law, but an officer who was enforcing the law. She should receive no sympathy.
dont the cops have anything else better to do then throw thier weight around for just a damn piece of candy?
So it's okay to break the law when there is no-one there to enforce it?
I withheld my opinion concerning the cops. Sure, they could have been doing many more practical things. But my focus was around the arrogance of the woman.
well, if there is no one there to enforce it, it is okay to do it just hide it really well without acting like a spazola. almost like if you are pulled over for speeding, you say a speed that is around the actual speed limit or say something lower of what you think the speed limit is if you dont see a sign. ;)