Pro tip: Don't talk back to New York City cops. Just don't. Yes, you have every right to do so, but they also have the power to arrest you for whatever—call it "disorderly conduct"— and send you "through the system" down in the Tombs for a day or two. Best to just silently accept the police state—such was the lesson learned by one Douglas Brown, a 41-year-old Bronx Mormon who was stopped by police for drinking a Snapple in a brown paper bag in the passenger seat of his friend's minivan. After showing the officer what he was drinking, he made the mistake of venting his frustration by asking the cop, "You got nothing better to do?" Why yes, as a matter of fact: sending a message to a disrespectful Mormon!
And so Brown's 40 hour journey through The System began. According to a copy of the complaint obtained by the Daily News, Brown allegedly "swatted the cop's hand and refused to get out of the van." When the situation escalated, he also "flailed his arms, pushed the officer... kicked his legs, and twisted his body, refusing to be handcuffed." After two nights in Central Booking, Brown finally appeared before a judge, who asked if anyone had kept the Snapple bottle as evidence. (The cops had not.) The judge then threw out the charges of resisting arrest and obstructing government administration.
Of course it doesn't end there; Brown intends to sue the city over his arrest, and tells the News, "I understand if he stopped me for the seat belt, or something. But a juice?" Seriously, it's not like he was heckling a cyclist or anything.
