By Jean Fernando
A female American citizen was arrested after shouting invectives and slapping a policeman in Las Piñas City last Monday.
Las Piñas City police chief P/Col. Simnar Gran identified the arrested suspect as Cheryl Hawkins Bautista, a resident of Bacoor City, Cavite.
Base on the report submitted by Gran to the Southern Police District (SPD), Bautista’s arrest came following a complaint from a food chain that one of their customers was creating trouble in their place.
According to the owner of the food chain, the suspect was willing to settle the bill for the food she consumed with her woman companion, but only with her credit card. However, the owner said her store did not accept credit cards.
When responding policemen came, one of the operatives approached Bautista to ask for her side of the story, but the suspect immediately shouted invectives at him as she may have thought that she was going to be arrested.
The incident was caught in the establishment’s CCTV in which the policeman and the woman friend of the suspect were seen pacifying her while she continued to shout at the policeman.
With the behavior shown by the suspect, the policeman was forced to arrest Bautista.
But when he came near the suspect, the policeman was met by a slap by the suspect forcing operatives to handcuff her.
During the investigation at the police station, the suspect declined to give a statement on the incident.
Gran said the suspect showed the unruly behavior as she was intoxicated with liquor during the time of the incident.
Charges of direct assault, disobedience to a person in authority, oral defamation and alarm and scandal were filed by the police against the suspect who was placed behind bars at the detention facility of the Las Piñas City police.