U.S. woman cited for yelling obscenities at overflowing toilet in her home

[JODO 2]

SCRANTON, Pa. - Talk about a potty mouth.

A Scranton woman who allegedly shouted profanities at her overflowing toilet within earshot of a neighbour was cited for disorderly conduct, authorities said. Dawn Herb could face up to 90 days in jail and a fine of up to $300.

"It doesn't make any sense. I was in my house. It's not like I was outside or drunk," Herb told The Times-Tribune of Scranton. "The toilet was overflowing and leaking down into the kitchen and I was yelling (for my daughter) to get the mop."

Herb doesn't recall exactly what she said, but she admitted letting more than a few choice words fly near an open bathroom window Thursday night.

Her next-door neighbour, a city police officer who was off-duty at the time, asked her to keep it down, police said. When she continued, the officer called police.

Mary Catherine Roper, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union in Philadelphia, took issue with the citation.

"You can't prosecute somebody for swearing at a cop or a toilet," she said.

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/Oddities/071016/K101608AU.html

[Jasman0717 9]

Damn, if you can't curse at a toilet what can you curse at

[JODO 2]

Damn, if you can't curse at a toilet what can you curse at

true

[DeadPoolX 9]

This is going a bit far. Sure, she was yelling, but her toilet was overflowing (a good reason to yell, in my book) and she was in her own house! Like she said, she wasn't "outside or drunk." It's getting to the point where we no longer have the right or privacy to do what we wish within our own homes anymore.

[KJC 1]

Ahem... well... I seem to have a problem with overflowing toilets when I'm visiting the states... ahem...

I can't blame her!

[Toshtishtash 1]

How stupid is that!

[Donna A 4]

America...land of the not so free.

[Nessa 23]

maybe it was the choice of words that hit the nerve of the neighbor

[NavarreMan 10]

You can get arrested for yelling at a police dog...

[natty bumppo 297]

Paybacks can be a b!tch ..

The neighbor (city cop) better ALWAYS be on the absolute best behavior from this point forward ... otherwise ... she should make a call and complain about the neighbor. Imagine the neighbor (cop) getting lots of visits from his buddies to resolve issues. And a failure of his buddies to respond ... gets escalated within the city PD as favoritism.

[kim&james 0]

What a complete ####### and what a abuse of his position.

[Ban Hammer 13,342]

maybe her choice of words caused the cop to think she was talking to him.......

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Is it really the best use of people's time to prosecute this woman over something as ridiculous as this?

What is it with all these finger-wagging laws?

[nivesito 0]

What happened to the freedom of speech?

[DeadPoolX 9]

Is it really the best use of people's time to prosecute this woman over something as ridiculous as this?

What is it with all these finger-wagging laws?

Politicians who're bored, I suppose. They want to look like they're doing something. I'd rather have politicians who actually do something worthwhile instead.