Man Arrested for Wearing Grinch Mask

[Unassisted]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050526/...sted&printer=1

Man Arrested for Wearing Grinch Mask




Thu May 26,11:47 AM ET


City and county attorneys are defending Wheeling police who arrested a man for wearing a Grinch mask while walking along a city street.

Norman Eugene Gray, 42, was arrested Tuesday. He was arraigned and released on a personal recognizance bond.

Officers saw Gray about 8:45 a.m. Tuesday, told him to take the mask off and not put it on again. Gray removed it and asked why he could not wear it, according to Wheeling police reports. Officers told him wearing masks in public is illegal.

Gray said he felt he had a right to wear it and said it was not illegal. He put the mask back on and was arrested. The mask was confiscated.

Wheeling City Solicitor Rosemary Humway-Warmuth and Ohio County Prosecutor Scott Smith said masks as well as dark window tinting in vehicles can pose a safety hazard to law enforcement officers and hinder efforts to identify criminal suspects.

"When we think about masks, we don't always think of Halloween," Humway-Warmuth said.

Smith said wearing a mask or hood in public is a misdemeanor under state law, punishable by a fine of up to $500 or up to a year in jail, or both. Children up to 16 years old can wear masks. Traditional Halloween masks, safety gear used in occupations, theatrical productions, civil defense or protection from bad weather also are legal.

[RedFanAlways1966]

Norman Eugene Gray, 42, was arrested Tuesday.

Gotta wonder about a 42-year-old man who likes to wear a Grinch mask (in public) during the month of May. I have a strange feeling that Mr. Gray has made himself well-known before this to the Wheeling police department. Don't know why... but I am sure Mr. Gray has seen the inside a Wheeling jail cell before this. The last paragraph sums it up pretty good IMO. Whether it is a silly law or not does not matter. It was the law. And he was given a chance to remove it. Wonder how many lawyers will be calling The Grinch?!?

He should give his troublesome mask to the sex offender character in Lucas County Ohio! Dude might stand a better chance of scoring with the Grinch mask.

[Redsland]

Good thing he was in Wheeling and not Whoville.

[TC81190]

Originally Posted by RedFanAlways1966

He should give his troublesome mask to the sex offender character in Lucas County Ohio! Dude might stand a better chance of scoring with the Grinch mask.

?

[KronoRed]

It's a nice mask though

[TC81190]

It's THAT ugly?

[savafan]

It's illegal in Piqua, Ohio for a woman to undress in front of a photograph of a man who is not her husband.

It's also illegal in Piqua, Ohio to take a bath/shower after 10:00 PM.

I'm glad the city I grew up in didn't enforce stupid laws.

[Jeremy Piergallini]

Redsfan66,
I work up the street from where that happened. The reason he has the mask on is he is part of a group of steelworkers picketing Ormet steel. From my understanding, Ormet is taking it to the workers, as well as the retirees. Ormet is seen as a greedy organization whose only goal is to make as much money as possible and they don't care who they step on. THe man, Emmet Boyle, who ran Ormet, retired with a giant bonus in the middle of the strike, and haven't heard from him since.

[RedFanAlways1966]

Originally Posted by Jeremy Piergallini

Redsfan66,
I work up the street from where that happened. The reason he has the mask on is he is part of a group of steelworkers picketing Ormet steel. From my understanding, Ormet is taking it to the workers, as well as the retirees. Ormet is seen as a greedy organization whose only goal is to make as much money as possible and they don't care who they step on. THe man, Emmet Boyle, who ran Ormet, retired with a giant bonus in the middle of the strike, and haven't heard from him since.

Fair enough, Jeremy, and thanks for the background. My advice to Mr. Gray would be, "If an officer tells you something and gives you a warning, then you had best listen and obey the command."

Funny how the article makes no mention of this. They lead you to believe that the guy is just some sort of nut-job who likes to walk around in public w/ a Halloween mask on his face. Obviously it seems that Mr. Gray was trying to tell Ormet that they are Grinches. Da law is da law though.

[Jeremy Piergallini]

Yea, if a cop told me to do something, I would probably do it.
TO me, that just brings out the fact that towns like to pass some weird laws. I understand about wearing masks and stuff, but in the context in which he was doing it, it wasn't like he was trying to rob the 7-11 in town.

I shouldn't have directly targeted you with my first response. Just wanted to give more background since the report didn't.

Does anybody else feel weird that decent size companies in this country are in financial trouble, but Wal-Mart is still going strong? I shop at Wal-Mart, but what happens when they get rid of all of their competition, will their prices start to rise?

[savafan]

Originally Posted by Jeremy Piergallini

I shop at Wal-Mart, but what happens when they get rid of all of their competition, will their prices start to rise?

That would be the expectation based on the history of coorporations.

[Unassisted]

Originally Posted by savafan

It's illegal in Piqua, Ohio for a woman to undress in front of a photograph of a man who is not her husband.

It's also illegal in Piqua, Ohio to take a bath/shower after 10:00 PM.

I'm glad the city I grew up in didn't enforce stupid laws.

On the plus side of the ledger, Piqua does have Terry's Cafeteria with it's famous sticky buns and pie.

[savafan]

Originally Posted by Unassisted

On the plus side of the ledger, Piqua does have Terry's Cafeteria with it's famous sticky buns and pie.

Terry's Cafeteria went out of business years ago.

[Unassisted]

Originally Posted by savafan

Terry's Cafeteria went out of business years ago.

I guess that seals it, then. There is no reason to visit Piqua now.

Actually, I thought I had heard that somewhere, but Google produced a couple of references to Terry's, so I figured I was still current. At least we still have our memories of the place.

[Johnny Footstool]

Most "no mask in public" laws in this country are designed to thwart Klan rallies.