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Thursday, December 08, 2016

Woman Plans Equal Protection Lawsuit If No Resolution With Berlin

BERLIN – The local woman threatened with arrest for sitting on a picnic table at Henry Park is now seeking relief through the legal system.

Ronshell Shockley, the woman confronted by a police officer for not sitting correctly at a picnic table, plans to file a $75,000 lawsuit if she and the Town of Berlin don’t come to a resolution by Jan. 15. According to Luke Rommel, her attorney, if the matter is not resolved by then he’ll file an equal protection claim in federal court.

“Initially, we were hoping for a simple apology,” Rommel said. “That never happened. At this point, there would be a small monetary component required to resolve the dispute. The money would be mainly symbolic; no one has any intention of ‘getting rich’ off this case, but we feel there should be a deterrent component to this so it does not happen again.”

On June 30, Shockley and her husband were at Henry Park watching their son’s basketball game. She was sitting on top of a picnic table when she was approached by Lt. Jeffrey Lawson of the Berlin Police Department. He told her she was sitting on the bench wrong and when her husband questioned the officer’s behavior, they were told to leave.

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8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, yes it is about money.

Anonymous said...

She refused to follow the rules and the officers order so it's on her. If she raises her kids to disrespect the law and law officers as she does she will be the first won blaming others when her kids gets shot by police.

Anonymous said...

$75,000 is the amount you need ask for to get into federal court and lawyers rarely ever work for free.

Anonymous said...

The attorney, with no case, now wants to be paid. HaHaHa...

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
She refused to follow the rules and the officers order so it's on her. If she raises her kids to disrespect the law and law officers as she does she will be the first won blaming others when her kids gets shot by police.

December 8, 2016 at 10:08 AM

There is a rule on how you have to sit at a picnic table? I usually side with law enforcement but sometimes they over step their boundaries. You do not have to comply with an officer if their orders are not lawful. I hope she wins in all honesty, they have stated all they want is an apology which I believe is warranted here. Though I am willing to bet she gets an apology now.

Anonymous said...

She should have been arrested for disorderly conduct!
Sit on the chair part not on the table part - people should NOT be exposed to your butt when they sit correctly!

This is one of those simple civility things that has gone by the wayside since the turd came in to office!

Anonymous said...

So since this isnt about money why not have a White woman sit on the pic-nic table the same way, and have the officer called to the park! When the officer asks the white woman to sit properly then the case is NULL AND VOID!

Anonymous said...

Boy the judge should throw that case right out of court. No pun intended.