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[The Dude]

WHEELING, W.Va. - City and county attorneys are defending Wheeling police who arrested a man for wearing a Grinch mask while walking along a city street.

Norman Eugene Gray, 42, was arrested Tuesday. He was arraigned and released on a personal recognizance bond.

Officers saw Gray about 8:45 a.m. Tuesday, told him to take the mask off and not put it on again. Gray removed it and asked why he could not wear it, according to Wheeling police reports. Officers told him wearing masks in public is illegal.

Gray said he felt he had a right to wear it and said it was not illegal. He put the mask back on and was arrested. The mask was confiscated

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...rinch_arrested

He's wearing it to protest his employer and intends to continue wearing it:
http://www.herald-mail.com/?module=d...06&format=html

The prosecutors are standing pat on the charges,they played the 9/11 card:
http://theintelligencer.net/news/sto...5_new2city.asp

This is the most stupidist thing i have ever heard of,its just ridiculous!! We better warn them all on Halloween!

[Tulip-Dennis]

Wearing masks is illegal???

I guess I better not dress up as the Phantom of the Opera this halloween.

[the_pm]

The statute, he says, indicates anyone using masks, hoods or other devices to conceal even a portion of the face "could be potentially committing a crime."

Along those lines of thinking, someone wearing any type of clothing could potentially be concealing drugs or firearms meant to commit a crime. I guess we should make it illegal to wear garments that mask any portion of the body.

So, an arrest was made on the grounds that someone could "potentially commit a crime." Minority Report, anyone?

[Tulip-Dennis]

Lol. Potentially committing a crime.

I'm tying my shoe, but I could be concealing a blade in the tongue of my boot.

I'm wearing a blindfold for a pinata bashing, I could be planning to bash the people around me instead.

I'm typing at this computer, I could be posing a security threat.

I'm reading a book, I could be planning a coup.

Of all the dumb things in the world, arresting someone on the basis that they might possibly commit a crime. Judging by "Gray said he felt he had a right to wear it and said it was not illegal. He put the mask back on and was arrested. The mask was confiscated", I'd say an officer got power happy. Now excuse me, I need to go get arrested for eating breakfast.

[Odd Fact]

As silly as it seems he was instructed to take the mask off and not put it back on. Even if the law is not called for he did violate the instructions given by the officers.

Waht I would like to know is how the officers knew to look on the street he was walking on.

[Barti1987]

You are not allowed to jaywalk...

You are not allowed to spit on the floor..

You are not allowed to drive your bike on the sidewalk...

If we look at the list, it will keep going on and on... But it doesn't mean they are really enforced.. Its just one time in a blue moon a cop feels bored they catch for one of them things..

Peace,

[the_pm]

Originally posted by Odd Fact
As silly as it seems he was instructed to take the mask off and not put it back on. Even if the law is not called for he did violate the instructions given by the officers.

Waht I would like to know is how the officers knew to look on the street he was walking on.

If a police officer told me to turn around and drop my pants, he'd end up having to arresting me too! If I feel a police officer's instructions violate my rights, I'll violate his instructions in the face of the ensuing penalty. I can understand this man choosing not to follow the officer's instructions if he felt there was no legal basis for them. In his situation, I think I would have removed the mask, asked for a detailed explanation of the law being broken, including a statute number, etc. Then, I'd go home and research the laws to see if I was indeed breaking them, and if so, I'd alter my behavior to fall within the confines of the law while still making my statement.

The other side of the coin is that by getting arrested, he's made his cause against his employer much more public and high-profile. In the end, I'd say he'll likely view his arrest as a small price to pay for that exposure; perhaps he even planned it all to happen that way or at least recognized the opportunity when the officer presented it to him!

[SniperDevil]

There are strange and senseless laws like this in almost every state, especially in the South, and there will continue to be as long as humans are running the show.

Like Paul, I would have asked that the officer explain to me just how it was illegal and, perhaps out of curiosity more than anything, just why it was illegal.

If we left it completely up to the government to make, interpret, question, and enforce the laws, we'd have some pretty ridiculous laws; that's why there are private organizations like the ACLU. They lobby for their cause and their beliefs, and they shouldn't be the only ones doing so. Individuals can have a huge effect on the law, just as the ACLU or the Family Life Council, or the like, can.

[Criminal#58369]

Thats just stupid sh*t, just like drinking in public is illegal, i dont know about drunkeness lol...