Metro Arrest For Snacking Ruled Legal
A federal judge said this week that it was "foolish" for Metro Transit Police to handcuff a 12-year-old girl for eating a french fry on a subway platform, but he ruled that the transit system did not violate her constitutional rights. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan dismissed claims by Tracy Hedgepeth that Metro Transit Police Officer Jason Fazenbaker illegally searched her daughter's backpack and treated her unfairly when he arrested her Oct. 23, 2000, after watching her enter the Tenleytown-AU Station and pop a single french fry into her mouth.
Fazenbaker and other Transit Police officers were posted at the station as part of a week-long sting to catch students snacking and breaking other Metro rules. The station, near two high schools, had generated complaints for years from commuters upset about rowdy teenagers. On the afternoon of her arrest, Ansche Hedgepeth was headed home from junior high school.
But when they slapped metal handcuffs on Ansche, Metro Transit Police catapulted her into the national spotlight, found themselves fodder for talk radio hosts and triggered local debates on whether Metro had gone too far in its devotion to order.
At the time of the arrest, Metro police maintained that D.C. law allowed them to issue citations of up to $300 to adults caught eating in the Metro but required that minors be arrested and taken into custody. Police seized Ansche's jacket and backpack, removed her shoelaces and transported her to the District's juvenile processing center, where the crying girl was fingerprinted and held for three hours.
Attorneys representing Ansche said Metro Transit Police violated her Fifth Amendment guarantee to equal protection because they arrested her for something they would simply hand a citation to an adult for doing. They also charged that her Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure were violated.
Sullivan did not agree. While noting that the arrest seemed extreme, he wrote that once Transit Police had probable cause to arrest Ansche, she had "no fundamental right to freedom from physical restraint." The judge said although Ansche complained that Metro acted in "an unreasonable and disproportionate" way, the Supreme Court has ruled otherwise. In 2001, the court found that a Texas arrest for a seat belt violation was not so extraordinary as to violate the right to avoid unlawful search and seizure.
Still, Sullivan had harsh words for Metro. "Nonetheless, the court can hardly overlook the humiliating and demeaning impact of the arrest on Ms. Ansche Hedgepeth. Hopefully, the policymakers [at Metro] will rethink any other 'foolish' operating procedures before subjecting or continuing to subject unwary users of mass transportation to the indignity and horror suffered by the plaintiff."
Tracy Hedgepeth said yesterday that she was disappointed by Sullivan's ruling. "To me, the whole thing is ridiculous," she said. Her daughter, now a 15-year-old student at Woodrow Wilson Senior High School, thinks about the incident every time she walks into a Metro station, she said.
Attorneys for the Hedgepeths have not decided whether they will appeal. "Ansche is a bright and courageous young woman, and we were hoping she would see that the court can be an effective remedy for overzealous law enforcement," attorney Brian Duffy said.
Shortly after the case drew national attention, Transit Police modified their policy on youngsters caught eating in the subway and stopped arresting and handcuffing them. The policy now permits written warnings and a letter to the parents. Boys and girls younger than 18 accused of committing minor offenses are sent to Youth Court, a program run in cooperation with school authorities, D.C. police and the D.C. Corporation Counsel's office.
Metro officials were pleased by the ruling. "We're glad it's all behind us," spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said. "It's our transit police department's responsibility to correct inappropriate behavior in our system, and they do it every day."
Staff writer Carol D. Leonnig contributed to this report.
© 2003 The Washington Post Company
A federal judge said this week that it was "foolish" for Metro Transit Police to handcuff a 12-year-old girl for eating a french fry on a subway platform, but he ruled that the transit system did not violate her constitutional rights. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan dismissed claims by Tracy Hedgepeth that Metro Transit Police Officer Jason Fazenbaker illegally searched her daughter's backpack and treated her unfairly when he arrested her Oct. 23, 2000, after watching her enter the Tenleytown-AU Station and pop a single french fry into her mouth.
Fazenbaker and other Transit Police officers were posted at the station as part of a week-long sting to catch students snacking and breaking other Metro rules. The station, near two high schools, had generated complaints for years from commuters upset about rowdy teenagers. On the afternoon of her arrest, Ansche Hedgepeth was headed home from junior high school.
But when they slapped metal handcuffs on Ansche, Metro Transit Police catapulted her into the national spotlight, found themselves fodder for talk radio hosts and triggered local debates on whether Metro had gone too far in its devotion to order.
At the time of the arrest, Metro police maintained that D.C. law allowed them to issue citations of up to $300 to adults caught eating in the Metro but required that minors be arrested and taken into custody. Police seized Ansche's jacket and backpack, removed her shoelaces and transported her to the District's juvenile processing center, where the crying girl was fingerprinted and held for three hours.
Attorneys representing Ansche said Metro Transit Police violated her Fifth Amendment guarantee to equal protection because they arrested her for something they would simply hand a citation to an adult for doing. They also charged that her Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure were violated.
Sullivan did not agree. While noting that the arrest seemed extreme, he wrote that once Transit Police had probable cause to arrest Ansche, she had "no fundamental right to freedom from physical restraint." The judge said although Ansche complained that Metro acted in "an unreasonable and disproportionate" way, the Supreme Court has ruled otherwise. In 2001, the court found that a Texas arrest for a seat belt violation was not so extraordinary as to violate the right to avoid unlawful search and seizure.
Still, Sullivan had harsh words for Metro. "Nonetheless, the court can hardly overlook the humiliating and demeaning impact of the arrest on Ms. Ansche Hedgepeth. Hopefully, the policymakers [at Metro] will rethink any other 'foolish' operating procedures before subjecting or continuing to subject unwary users of mass transportation to the indignity and horror suffered by the plaintiff."
Tracy Hedgepeth said yesterday that she was disappointed by Sullivan's ruling. "To me, the whole thing is ridiculous," she said. Her daughter, now a 15-year-old student at Woodrow Wilson Senior High School, thinks about the incident every time she walks into a Metro station, she said.
Attorneys for the Hedgepeths have not decided whether they will appeal. "Ansche is a bright and courageous young woman, and we were hoping she would see that the court can be an effective remedy for overzealous law enforcement," attorney Brian Duffy said.
Shortly after the case drew national attention, Transit Police modified their policy on youngsters caught eating in the subway and stopped arresting and handcuffing them. The policy now permits written warnings and a letter to the parents. Boys and girls younger than 18 accused of committing minor offenses are sent to Youth Court, a program run in cooperation with school authorities, D.C. police and the D.C. Corporation Counsel's office.
Metro officials were pleased by the ruling. "We're glad it's all behind us," spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said. "It's our transit police department's responsibility to correct inappropriate behavior in our system, and they do it every day."
Staff writer Carol D. Leonnig contributed to this report.
© 2003 The Washington Post Company
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