Posted on 10/17/2013 9:54:33 AM PDT by Deadeye Division
hold the phone
If I went outside and took the aluminum cans from the recycle bins up and down my street to sell, could I be arrested?
I was thinking the same. Is this our future? one portion of our society lords over/manages the other? Kinda like how one portion of our society feeds off the other.
I'm beginning to think slavery never ended...
Cat, the other white meat.
Changed or utterly transformed?
“it becomes the property of the property owner”
So, if you find a quarter on the sidewalk and the sidewalk belongs to the city then. . .?
What if you find $20.00?
I am still trying to determine just exactly what is this woman’s legal problem?
Think of all the cj resources to run this through the system
Jeanne Valjean.
On the same note would picking up and pocketing a coin(s) from a sidewalk or street be considered stealing?
If I went outside and took the aluminum cans from the recycle bins up and down my street to sell, could I be arrested?
It’s supposed to be illegal to remove articles in the recycling bins here but no one gives a carp. I have watched the trash truck drivers wait for someone finish their shopping out of the cans before picking them up. I never put cans or bottles in the bin for this reason and basically because it’s my friggin money not the cities.
Bump
She could eat her four cats.
Bellefontaine City Council conducted their final meeting in October Tuesday night. The theft of $2.87 out of the city fountain and the public outcry that followed was the main topic of conversation.
According to Service-Safety Director Jim Holycross, feedback has come from as far away as Dubai questioning the handling of the incident. With the attention Bellefontaine is receiving, Holycross, out of necessity, clarified the city’s position:
—the city is concerned with the well-being of the person involved. There are opportunities available for that person to have a better life and the city can provide assistance.
—in this situation, the police officer acted appropriately given how the circumstances were presented. Police are asked everyday to make decisions on the spot.
—police reach out to citizens. For example, it is not uncommon for officers to purchase someone’s meal or give them a coat in the winter.
Holycross discusses fountain theft ramifications.
http://peakofohio.com/news/details.cfm?clientid=5&id=98058
Chief Standley responds to fountain theft case
Bellefontaine Police Chief Brandon Standley has responded to a case that has drawn national attention over the last two weeks.
A city woman was charged after she was caught stealing coins from the fountain in front of the Logan County Courthouse October 7th around 5:50 p.m.
The Bellefontaine Police Department reports that Deidre Romine, 38, of 1600 South Detroit Street, Apt. 21, was standing next to the fountain with a bag.
Initially, Romine denied taking money from the fountain.
She told police that the bag contained vegetables that she just received from Our Daily Bread.
Eventually, Romine emptied a pocket that contained a large amount of wet coins.
The officer recovered $2.87 worth of coins.
Romine was then issued a summons for theft.
The money thrown in the fountain goes to the city’s general fund.
Here is Standley’s response:
On October 7th, a concerned citizen reported to the Bellefontaine Police Department that a female was seen removing coins from the city-owned fountain in front of the Logan County Courthouse. The police department dispatcher then dispatched an officer to further investigate the citizen’s report. This is typical protocol when a potential crime is being reported to the police.
Upon the officer’s arrival, he did observe a female at the fountain. The female was later identified Deidre Romine of Bellefontaine. The officer began a conversation with Ms. Romine, but she was less than forthcoming that she had removed any change from the fountain. Instead, over the next few minutes, Ms. Romine repeatedly denied having any coins from the fountain. However, Ms. Romine did agree to show the officer the contents of her pockets. She volunteered three of four pockets. When asked about the contents of the fourth pocket, Ms. Romine stated that she had change from home in that pocket and agreed to show the coins at that time.
The officer issued Ms. Romine a written summons to appear in court at a later date, not physically taking her to jail. Ms. Romine has entered a not guilty plea in Bellefontaine Municipal Court.
The Bellefontaine Police Department operates 24 hours a day, with well trained individuals that care about our community. In this instance, it is clear that the actions of Ms. Romine were less than cooperative, causing the officer to conclude that a summons was necessary.
Staff of the Bellefontaine Police Department routinely helps those in need. For example, it is not uncommon for officers to purchase someone’s meal or give them a coat in the winter. The police department is active in community events and has increased neighborhood outreach efforts in the last year. The community has shown tremendous support of the police department by giving. Just last week, the local Moose Lodge donated over $1,000 to assist in the purchasing of two ballistic vests for officers.
We remain confident that this case will be resolved soon. We also remain hopeful that through this process, that this encounter with Ms. Romine and one of our officers proves to be the catalyst to get Ms. Romine intervention to assist her in her daily life. Our community is active in supporting those that are in need of extra assistance. We hope that the outpouring of support for Ms. Romine helps place her in a position for success.
http://peakofohio.com/news/details.cfm?clientid=5&id=98055
Just like throwing out the trash. You lose all right to privacy. Unless there is some ordinance on the books and signs posted at the fountain to prohibit that activity, I would think that she was in her rights to take that which was freely discarded
BEING REASONABLE: The other, other side of the coin
Created on Wednesday, 23 October 2013 Written by NATE SMITH
It’s high time someone stand up for officers of the Bellefontaine Police Department.
Some $14,000 has been raised to benefit Deirdre Romine, a Bellefontaine resident who lives below the poverty line at 1600 S. Detroit St., Apt. 21.
She was issued a summons Oct. 7 for stealing coins from the fountain in front of the Logan County Courthouse, and her story garnered state and national attention after some focus was given to her daily plight. She lives alone, suffers from a mental illness, faces eviction and, at least on the day in question, didn’t have anything to eat.
It was a sad story and one she was more than willing to share with a contributor to one local monthly publication.
An online donation page was set up in her name and contributions poured in faster than even the organizers likely could have predicted.
She’s been victimized, people believe, for “only” stealing $2.87. Therefore, her oppressor must be the BPD.
Lost amongst a groundswell of faux indignation surrounding Ms. Romine’s theft summons, is the reality that her behavior, in fact, necessitated a ticket and this whole mess has been blown entirely out of proportion.
I don’t begrudge Ms. Romine her 15 minutes of fame, nor am I suggesting she doesn’t “deserve” this money.
The perception seems to be that police somehow mistreated this woman. Assigning Ms. Romine a theft summons for having stolen such a small amount of coin defied common sense, especially after we consider her tough lot in life, many believe.
What we’ve learned since, though, is that Ms. Romine was less than forthcoming to police about having actually taken coins from the fountain.
“Ms. Romine repeatedly denied having any coins from the fountain,” read a press release issued Tuesday by Bellefontaine police concerning the incident.
The press release states that Ms. Romine was asked to divulge the contents of her pockets.
“She volunteered three of four pockets,” according to Chief Brandon Standley. “When asked about the contents of the fourth pocket, Ms. Romine stated that she had change from home in that pocket and then agreed to show the coins at that time.”
She lied to the cops because she knew she wasn’t supposed to take coins from a public fountain.
Do these facts make the officer any more justified in having written the summons?
I know that I’m less inclined to cut a break for a person after I find out they’ve intentionally misled me.
The misdemeanor crime seems petty, given the circumstances involved, but what if instead of $2.87 worth of coins from a fountain, she lifted a $2.87 convenience store sandwich because she was hungry?
What if instead of a woman for whom it was easy to feel sorry, it was Bellefontaine Bob taking coins out of the fountain? What if Ms. Romine wanted the money for beer, instead of food as she claimed, or drugs?
Based on her published story, I gather that part of my outrage over the incident is supposed to come from the fact that Ms. Romine supposedly has no criminal record, has never been to jail and is apparently scared this theft charge will yield a stint in a local lockup.
While her felony slate is clean, Ms. Romine was charged with disorderly conduct in December 2010 after she and another woman attempted to box one another outside a boarding house at 533 W. Auburn Ave. In May 2011, she was ordered to pay a $50 fine for disorderly conduct.
A theft summons probably would have resulted in a similar outcome. At no point was she ever arrested in this case, and no one ever threatened to take her to jail.
This is no case of police brutality.
It takes a lot for me to take a public stand for law enforcement.
The same guy who once marched in opposition to stop-and-frisk policies employed by the New York Police Department generally is in no hurry to rush to the defense of law enforcement.
Down with the establishment, man.
But we’re not talking about the establishment here. We’re talking about a blue collar police officer trying to execute a routine call for service in his community to uphold the law.
More, we’re talking about a police department that has taken great strides since spring to shore up its relationship with the community it serves. Under Chief Standley, the police department has staged multiple community events to interact with local residents in a non-confrontational setting.
“Staff of the Bellefontaine Police Department routinely helps those in need,” Chief Standley writes. “The police department is active in community events and has increased neighborhood watch events throughout the year.”
Officers have purchased meals for locals before and have offered them a coat in the winter time, Chief Standley said. Had Ms. Romine told the responding officer that she needed money to eat, he might have bought her some supper.
There’s a lot of people in need, many of whom, when they’re short $2.87, don’t resort to coin jumping in public water fountains. Most turn up at local food and clothing shelters or they seek assistance from the service agencies with which they are associated.
Officials at one such shelter offer a glimpse at just how far an extra $14,000 could go.
Our Daily Bread food pantry would be able to operate five days a week (instead of three) for about a year with an extra $14,000. The five-day-a-week summer program was a tremendous success, serving more than 9,300 people.
I cannot emphasize this strongly enough: Ms. Romine is not wrong to try and parlay this saga into years’ worth of economic security.
However, it’s important to call this situation for what it is. A local periodical capitalized on a unique story that you just don’t hear about every day.
The perception for someone reading this story on the Internet must have been that the minuscule amount of money involved, and the fact she was ticketed (it turns out, more for her uncooperative disposition than for the crime itself) was proof positive of power-tripping cops hassling indigent women in Logan County or that the officer and community lacked compassion.
Ms. Romine’s life is changed as a result of this. I wish her well and may she never again be so desperate for money that she resorts to taking coins illegally from a water fountain.
The problem is that by victimizing her, we villify a local police force that has gone out of its way in recent months to forge a positive relationship with the community.
Nate Smith is an Examiner staff writer. He can be reached at nsmith@examiner.org.
http://examiner.org/blog/29518-being-reasonable-the-other-other-side-of-the-coin
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