Think soda refills are free? Think again. Some are real expensive, especially when bully law enforcement gets involved.
It is not hard to find almost daily examples of the new face of law enforcement in America. “Guilty while doing nothing” is common enough, especially if you’re a young African-American man, but cops turning minor transgressions into major events is a growing stain on our society.
Christopher Lewis was a construction worker on-site at the Charleston, South Carolina Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center, a federal facility. At lunch in the hospital cafeteria, he refilled his drink without paying, same most everyone does in most every fast food place. Lewis failed to notice the sign saying refills were not free. A Federal Police Force officer who witnessed the illicit refilling grabbed Lewis by the arm and asked if he was going to pay for the drink. Lewis explained he didn’t know refills weren’t free, and added that unfortunately he had also refilled in the past.
Lewis then attempted to pay for the 89 cent refill, but was prevented from doing so by the cop. The officer, who is also the chief of the Federal Police Force that patrols the VA hospital, instead took Lewis to a holding room and a $525 ticket for shoplifting. A hospital spokesperson later characterized the purloined soda as “theft of government property” and added that Lewis was aggressive during the “confrontation.”
It gets worse. Because he was now a “criminal,” (never mind that innocent until proven guilty thing you hear about on TV) Lewis was thrown off VA property and banned from returning, meaning that he lost his job. Lewis offered to bring is own lunch in the future and not got to the cafeteria if he could stay on the job, but was told no.
Lewis refused to plead guilty and planned to take the case to court. It was only at that point, and after local media publicized the case, that the Veteran’s Affairs hospital decided to change its mind, tear up the $525 ticket and let Lewis off with a “warning.” It is still unclear whether or not Lewis is allowed to continue working his job at the site.
The hospital stated that it “is fortunate to have a highly trained Federal police force to ensure the safety of our patients, visitors and employees. As Federal police they are responsible for enforcing the law.”
The hospital had no comment on how many actual crimes that really threatened the safety of its patients, visitors and employees went unnoticed while they were harassing Lewis. How many taxpayer dollars were spent on this whole process were also left unsaid, but we can safely assume it was more than 89 cents. And hey, if you run into Christopher Lewis somewhere, buy the guy a Diet Coke or something. He’s probably thirsty.
(c) Peter Van Buren, 2014.Image via The Democratic Underground