- KETTERING -- A 66-year-old
woman taking her dogs for a walk ended up in jail for 90 minutes after
getting into a dispute with a patrol officer.
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- She was charged with walking in the street, assault on
a police officer and obstructing official business. She was released on
her own recognizance. But Kettering police said the case could have been
avoided if the woman had cooperated during the encounter.
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- Geraldine Hemmert-Emmons, who lives on Braddock Street
in Kettering, was walking her two dogs on her street Sunday night after
finding the sidewalk slippery. She said she yelled at a passing car going
too fast. The car was Officer Jerry Csizma's cruiser.
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- Both say he told her to get out of the street, and she
refused. Both agree she challenged him to give her a ticket. Csizma and
Hemmert-Emmons have different accounts of what happened next.
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- In his report, Csizma, a 25-year veteran, said she refused
to identify herself, making a citation impossible. Csizma's report states
he drove around the block, and when he returned she was still in the street.
After warning her again, he called for backup, Officer Adam Walker, who
corroborated Csizma's account.
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- The report states she refused to identify herself four
times even as he threatened to arrest her.
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- Hemmert-Emmons said while being taken into custody, Csizma
put his hand in her pants pocket while frisking her. The police reports
state Csizma handcuffed her and checked her coat pockets.
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- Hemmert-Emmons, who said she was not handcuffed yet,
said, " 'Stop doing that,' and I pushed him. That's when he said:
'You're under arrest.' He threw me down in the snow, pushed me very hard."
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- The police reports state she kicked him in the shin and
Csizma pulled her to the ground to stop the scuffle.
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- Police department spokesman Glen Evans said that action
is "a reasonable tactic that we use."
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- Hemmert-Emmons' refusal to identify herself led to the
arrest, Evans said. "If she's not going to cooperate, our options
are limited," he said. "She put herself in a difficult situation."
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- Evans said the obstruction charge stemmed from disobeying
the direct order, refusing to give her name, and trying to walk away from
the officers. He said it was unlikely the assault charge would be a felony.
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- Hemmert-Emmons made and then canceled an appointment
to file an official complaint. Evans said internal affairs would investigate,
but it would be difficult without her help.
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- Csizma's most recent performance review said: "Patrolman
Csizma is very patient when handling complaints from citizens. . . . He
maintains a calming presence when confronted with potentially explosive
situations and effectively deals with angry or excited persons."
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- His personnel file includes 24 thank-you notes, a recent
commendation for using a taser to subdue an agitated man with a knife and
a 1997 excessive-force reprimand for hitting a fleeing suspect on the head
with a flashlight, causing a minor injury.
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- First published 1-8-03 http://www.activedayton.com/ddn/local/daily/0108dogwalk.html
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- Comment
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- From Jim
- 1-17-3
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- Dear Jeff,
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- It sounds like the problem originated when the woman
needed to walk in the street because the sidewalks were slippery. An
old woman could slip and break a hip.
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- The cost of this accident would likely be borne by insurance
companies or the taxpayers. Add to this her pain, change of life trauma,
that her dogs would be improperly cared for, and the inconvenience to relatives
who must now nurse her back to health, and we have the potential for catastrophe
-especially since most insurance companies are flat broke, and government
budgets to help people are strapped to the max.
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- The policeman was right to tell her to get out of the
road. If not for her own safety, that of the dogs. And she was right
to reply that she couldn't walk on the sidewalks because they were covered
with ice. Solution?
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- Couldn't the problem have been prevented by a properly
maintained sidewalk?
- Ideally, city roads and sidewalks would have some kind
of automatic system to melt snow on contact. But until they do, someone
has to shovel it away and sprinkle rocksalt.
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- True, not all property owners have the health to shovel,
or can afford to pay someone else to do it. For these folks maybe the
scouts, schools, or VISTA could assist.
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- Jim
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