Pensacola makes Australia news service – news.com.au. & Reuters News Service
This is how the world sees Pensacola
Cop orders topless punishment
January 30, 2007 08:46am
A FLORIDA city has agreed to pay $35,000 ($45,300) to a teenage girl who was forced by a policeman to perform jumping exercises while topless in order to avoid arrest on an indecency charge.
The Pensacola City Council approved the payment to settle a lawsuit the girl filed against the city police department.
Officer Shawn Patrick Shields approached a parked car and found two partially dressed teenagers inside in April 2003, according to a police report.
The officer put the 16-year-old girl and 19-year-old man into his police car and threatened to arrest them for lewd and lascivious behavior.
The girl said Shields suggested she instead perform topless exercises as a punishment and shined his flashlight on her while she did five jumping jacks.
Shields resigned under pressure, pleaded no contest to a criminal charge of extortion and was ordered to serve two years on probation, Lt. Randy Stull said.