The Martinsville, Indiana, police department suspended Officer Darren Johnson for 45 days for Tasering a 10-year-old boy. Capt. William Jennings resigned from the force after it was revealed he had slapped the boy. The two had been called to a local daycare center because the boy was being disruptive.
In New Zealand, St. Joseph's school principal Peter Knowles noticed the smoke drifting into the building. He found that it was coming from a nearby incinerator where police were burning cannabis. They put the fire out after he complained.
Michigan Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell is obsessed with a young college student. For several months, Shirvell has followed Chris Armstrong around campus and even to his home. He also set up a blog devoted to attacking Armstrong after he was elected president of the University of Michigan student body. Shirvell has called Armstrong, who is openly gay, "Satan's representative," a "pervert," and "Nazi like." After Shirvell's obsession with Armstrong was reported by the national media, he took a leave of absence from the attorney general's office.
When Chantal Desrosiers accidentally locked her 15-month-old son in her car on a hot day, the owner of the daycare facility she was picking him up from called 911 for help. But the dispatcher in Laval, Canada, told her that police don't respond to locked cars and hung up. Fortunately, Desrosiers' husband showed up about 10 minutes later and knocked a window out of the car.
England's The Sunday Telegraphreports that local governments are fining residents up to £110 for putting recyclables in the wrong bin or putting bins out on the wrong day. By contrast, the newspaper reports, the fine for shoplifting is £80.
Clayton High School officials have told Ariana Iacono not to come back to school unless she removes a small stud from her nose. The dress code for the North Carolina school bars facial piercings, but it also says the school will make "reasonable accommodations" to the dress code for students with "a sincerely held religious belief." The Iaconos are members of the Church of Body Modification, a 10-year-old church that claims about 3,500 members nationwide, that advocates piercing, tattoos, and scarification. But so far school officials have refused their request for a waiver.
In Lincolnshire, England, the county council has threatened to report Mark McCullough to family services if he doesn't stop allowing his 7-year-old daughter to walk to the bus stop alone. Council officials say the girl is too young to walk 20 meters and cross the street to the bus stop.
The Ohio Department of Public Safety has apologized to former American Idol contestant Crystal Bowersox after finding confidential state databases had been improperly used to look for information on the singer. Employees of five local law enforcement agencies, a municipal court and the Bureau of Motor Vehicles all searched for information after Bowersox, who is from Ohio, shot to fame on a the TV show.
In 1996, Tacoma, Washington, police arrested David Andrews for felony drug possession. Four months later, a judge tossed out the charge, citing insufficient evidence. In 2007, the state hired him as a network technician in its Department of Information. Three months after that, his supervisors fired him after a background check revealed the 1996 arrest. Under state rules, if he'd actually gone to trial on the drug charge and been acquitted, he could have kept his job. But since the charge was dismissed, he could not. Andrews sued the agency but lost, and rather than appeal the decision, he accepted a settlement.
Last year, Rochester, New Hampshire, officials converted a side street into a community meeting place. Now, residents complain that the wrong members of the community are meeting there. Police say they are getting complaints from business owners that people, lots of them, are coming there and staying for hours. Police say they can't really do much about it because that's what's supposed to happen.
Two women have filed a complaint with the Florida Commission on Human Relations claiming they were denied service at a Lake Wales bar because they are black. Mildred Richardson and Ida Mae Royal said they went to the bar for a sandwich and when a waitress asked them what they wanted they said they wanted to order lunch. They say the waitress told them they didn't serve food, and they believe that constitutes racial discrimination. The bar's owner, Kerry Winkler, says he doesn't have a food license and no one—regardless of their color—can order lunch there.
Officials at Indiana's Delphi Community High School have concluded that attempting to give someone a wedgie does not constitute sexual hazing. The school and local police both investigated after parents of a freshman complained three other students had sexually hazed their son. They found three juniors had tried to give him a wedgie, the student asked them to stop and they did.
In Washington, D.C. the Ward 6A Advisory Neighborhood Commission is appealing a decision to grant a certificate of occupancy to a new 7-11, and commission members have asked the Board of Zoning Adjustment to require the store to get a fast food license. The commission objects to the owner's plans to sell chicken wings. They say customers will discard the bones in the street.
Alyssa Thomas is just six years old, but the Department of Homeland Security says she may be a threat to commercial aviation. Thomas and her family were traveling when a ticket agent told them she was on the government's "no fly" list. Here father says they wrote to the government asking that their daughter be removed from the list but officials refused.
Holmfirth, England, officials spent $196,000 on a pedestrian crossing that they now say no one can use. That's because they built the walk in front of Angela and Robin Wray's driveway and it wouldn't be safe for people to stand there while waiting to cross the street. Officials say it will cost another $45,000 to remove the crossing.
In Montreal, Canada, a 16-year-old girl got on the school bus wearing shorts because it was a warm day. She says she intended to change into longer pants when she got to school. But when she arrived, she says teachers refused to even allow her into the building because the shorts violated the school's dress code. Instead, a teacher took her to the parking lot between two cars and made her change there.
The German Communist Party accidentally handed out ink pens that project erotic images to primary school children. Party officials say they bought the pens at a discount store which told them only that the pens light up.
Dublin, Georgia, officials have banned sagging pants. Those caught with pants or skirts "more than 3 inches below the hips" or that expose undergarments or skin face fines of up to $200.
Susan White couldn't understand why she'd gotten a citation for running a red light from the city of North Miami Beach, Florida. She hadn't been to the city. In fact, on the day she the ticket was issued, she was at home in Troy, New York. It turns out the ticket had been issued based on a red light camera. The license plate was very blurry in the photo. But someone apparently just guessed what the tag number was and sent a ticket to White. After a reporter started calling officials about the ticket, the company that handles the red light cameras for North Miami Beach canceled the ticket, blaming the mistake on human error.
Black Hawk, Colorado, has banned riding bicycles on most city streets. City officials say they were worried about possible collisions between cars and bikes on the narrow streets of the city. But they admit there were no accidents before the ban.
Queensland, Australia, officials are considering requiring toy guns to be licensed. Those who fail to license their toy guns could face fines of up to $4,500, and those who do not keep them locked up could be fined up to $750. The restrictions cover any toy that could "reasonably be taken to be a weapon."
In Troy, New York, Nicholas Nigro was standing in his home videotaping an altercation between police officers and a college student when one of the officers noticed him and went over to shut the door. When Nigro protested, he was arrested for disorderly conduct and possessing an open container of alcohol.
A report by the charity Age U.K. found that many elderly patients are left to starve in National Health Service hospitals. The report found nurses often place trays out of the reach of patients or do not give them needed help cutting food or opening plates and other containers. The charity also says that staff take away untouched food trays without asking any questions.
Attorney Brittney Horstman was scheduled to visit a client in the Miami, Florida, Federal Detention Center. But when she went through the metal detector her underwire bra set it off, and guards refused to let her in. She reminded them that federal officials sent out a memo a few years ago specifically telling guards that they must allow attorneys wearing underwire bras in. But they wouldn't relent. So she stepped into a restroom and removed her bra. They still refused to let her in. This time because prison dress code requires women to wear a bra.
Officials at Godley Middle School in Texas have placed 12-year-old Chris McGregor in in-school detention until he cuts his hair. The school dress code bars male students from having hair below the shoulders, and McGregor's locks are too long. Superintendent Paul Smithson says the rule helps reduce bullying. You see, students who stand out in some way might be teased or picked on, said Smithson. "And all of a sudden we have a problem."
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