Hawaii Cop Accused of Arresting Lesbian Couple for Kissing in Public
A lesbian couple from Los Angeles alleges in a federal lawsuit that they were arrested by an off-duty Honolulu police officer for kissing in public, according to various reports.
Courtney Wilson and Taylor Guerrero were on the second day of their Hawaii vacation when they encountered off-duty officer Bobby Harrison in a Foodland store on Oahu’s North Shore.
They were walking through the aisles holding hands and at one point hugged and kissed, the lawsuit said: 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.’ “
The women complied and continued shopping, the lawsuit said. When Harrison again saw them being affectionate with each other, he threatened to have them thrown out of the store.
Shit got crazy when Wilson and Guerrero made it to the check-out. Wilson, sketched out by Officer Harrison stalking them around the store, attempted to call the police herself, at which time Harrison is alleged to have grabbed her wrist. Guerrero attempted to physically separate her partner from Harrison. According to a Huffington Post report quoting the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Harrison pushed Guerrero, and Guerrero responded by kicking Harrison, “which apparently enraged him even more.”
At some point in there Harrison allegedly resorted to punching Wilson in the face. According to a Hawaii News Now recap of the event, both women were brought to the ground, where Foodland employees “were instructed to hold them down until someone found zip ties.” From there they were taken to the bowels of the store, where, according to Wilson, “they continued to harass us about our conduct in the store, asking us if it was worth it, if we were happy where we are.”
Unbelievably, the women were charged with felony assault of an officer. After they each posted $12,000 bail, they were prohibited from leaving the island pending resolution of the charges. This ordeal stretched on for six months, during which time Wilson and Guerrero had to resort to sleeping in a public park, according to the Hawaii News Now report.
The charges were eventually withdrawn and dismissed with prejudice, which means the case cannot be refiled. The federal lawsuit accuses Harrison of actions motivated by hostility towards gays, and names the City and County of Honolulu as a co-defendant.
The Honolulu Police Department opened their own internal investigation Wednesday.
