Man Goes Crazy, Gets Tasered After Store Refuses To Let Him Use Bathroom
Village Lighting in Bellingham, Washington refused to let a 29-year-old man use their bathroom, and the man retaliated by going completely batshit insane on them.
The man, who was reportedly not a customer, grabbed a 3-foot copper lighting fixture weighing about 10 pounds and began smashing cardboard boxes that contained merchandise on Friday, May 15, said Mark Young, spokesman for the Bellingham Police Department.
The man held the lighting fixture above his head and moved toward an employee in a threatening manner, Young said. The employee got out of the way, and the man left the store
The police found him nearby with a box cutter in his pocket and feces on his shoe, although they don't specify if it was his own feces or some miscellaneous street feces. He was Tasered, then booked into jail "on suspicion of second-degree assault, third-degree theft [he left with the lighting fixture -Ed.] and malicious mischief."
Washington just passed a law that requires stores to let customers use the bathroom under certain circumstances, but it doesn't go into effect until July 26th. If only he'd been able to hold it until then. And been willing to buy that lighting fixture.
"Man arrested in vandalism of Bellingham store" [Bellingham Herald] (Thanks to Ryan!)
(Photo: scriptingnews)
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Comments:
does it matter if it was his or someone else's? i questioned that as well. Were they trying to imply that he smeared his poop on his shoe and that's just weird?
Quick hint: next time let him use the bathroom...
@sanjsrik: If it's his own I would imagine that makes him even crazier and implies that the feces was self-inflicted. Street feces at least leaves the option open that he accidentally stepped on it.
I can't believe I'm analyzing this.
"miscellaneous street feces" would be a good rock band name
I wonder if there is an established definition of "customer" that goes along with that law? Do you have to purchase something to be considered as such?
Not that it would have mattered in this case.
It's hard to wipe yourself up with a lighting fixture.
um, the headline reads that he was tasered, yet, that was not mentioned in the story,
I WANT TASERING.
How was he tasered?
damn, shoddy reporting.
No, No, BAD CONSUMER! Drop it... Drrrrop IT!
Yesterday my 5-year-old and I were in the Rite Aid, asked the manager if she could use the bahroom, and he said, "no, it's for customers only" I guess the shopping basket full of merchandise didn't make me a customer just a really insincere browser.
@sanjsrik: Sorry to have left that out. I've added it. For full details, read the original article in the Bellingham Herald.
If he was threatening employees and they were getting out of his way, why didn;t he just use the bathroom? No one was going to stop the nutcase with the light fixture at that point. I mean, he'd still be charged, but he wouldn't have to explain that embarassing feces in his shoes.
ah, that's why businesses here just flat our refuse to let crackheads in...
Starbucks
People may hate their ubiquity but having one on every corner is rather convenient and I have yet to find one that ever cares if you buy anything.
I want more details! The reporter has a phone # at the end of the article, I'm thinking about calling her to ask ;)
Sounds like he asked to use the bathroom, got denied, flipped out, grabbed the fixture, threatened people (HULK POOP NOW!) and left the store to go crap outside. While shitting, they call the cops about the theft and when they show up, the guy goes off on them.
All in all, WORST DAY EVER for the poor guy..
@DrGirlfriend: Well, you're (presumably) a doctor and/or a girlfriend. (Over)Analyzing is in your nature. Go with it.
@sanjsrik: That is nonsense. All stores need to have a clear policy that anyone inside the store is a "customer" and entitled to use the bathroom. It boils down to a basic public health issue.
You should have said. "HURRRR, I was a customer, but now I'm not." and dropped the basket on his foot.
@jsbeagle: I hope so. I certainly would not want random people coming and and crapping all over my washroom.
A customer usually equals someone who buys something. It does not equal the general public.
I dont blame them, he's lucky he only got tasered what an idiot.
Wow. Talk about not being reasonable. He doesn't buy anything, wants to crap in their toilet, and when they refuse he blows up.
@sir_eccles: Or McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts or any fast food place. Only way you'll see me in one :)
Actually, if I'm around the city, I'll go to a hotel for the rest room. Most (not all, I wouldn't try a Days Inn) hotels have function rooms with public restrooms.
PS The Four Seasons in Boston has the nicest restroom in town. :)
Batshit is the best description for crazy I think. This article made me laugh. I especially loved the miscellanous street feces bit!
I think he probably stepped in the poo. I mean, it just wasn't his day, was it? He should've just stayed in bed.
@bibliophibian: I do, and therefore I'm going to remember that and try to use it in the near future. Thx.
Dibs on "Street Feces" as a band and/or album name.
The store was being a douche for the maximum amount of time they could be, simple as that.
I have...let's just say "bathroom issues" and I occasionally find myself in a real emergency for a restroom. This is a typical conversation I have at gas stations:
Me: I need to use your restroom, I'll buy something afterward but it's an emergency.
Clerk: Restrooms are for customers only.
Me: Either let me use the restroom or you'll have to clean shit up off of the floor.
Clerk: Restroom is in the back to your right.
You gotta commit to it, unbuckle your belt.
@chiieddy: Unless you walk into a hotel where they say the bathroom is for "guests and bar patrons only" and they do have a security guard that checks to see if you have a receipt from the hotel.
I wish I could remember the name of it, but it's in DC, around 23 and P street.
"miscellaneous street feces" might also be a good name for a blog.
The poop is the most interesting part of this story. Unfortunately, there's really no way of knowing whether it was his own or just your regular sidewalk turdling. It's most probable that it was his own, and that he is either a messy wiper, or squatted in the grass and let loose on his shoes, or he allowed the mudslide to run down the inside of his pants.
@sanjsrik: It sounds like the problem was that he didn't believe your daughter was actually purchasing anything - she was just browsing while you were shopping.
@sanjsrik: Not to get all TMI, but I'm under the impression that perhaps he had a major #2 emergency and, after they denied him access to a bathroom, it dribbled down his leg and onto/into his shoe. Mmmmm, squishy.
@squidbait: I think the policy should be more like "Anyone inside the store with clear intent on purchasing merchandise" should be considered a "customer". When I worked in a print shop (it was small, i was the only employee) we had homeless people come in and demand to use our bathroom daily, and the only thing that saved me in those situations was that I could say "sorry, that is for customers only".
@Chris Walters: phrenic does not mean crazy, just 'of or related to the mind'. guano-maniacal has a nice ring to it.
HULK NO GET TO PEE? HULK ANGRY!!!
BTW, this line is priceless: "police found him nearby with a box cutter in his pocket and feces on his shoe"
oh my god that was hilarious... i'm eating soup and it was *this* close to exploding my skull.
I wonder if you can sue for that
Sounds to me like the real problem is that the manager is not only a goddamn asshole for not letting a little girl use the bathroom in the first place customer or not, but also a goddamn moron for not realizing that she was actually a customer.
"they don't specify if it was his own feces or some miscellaneous street feces"
LOL!