Casper Police Arrest Man After He Hugged, Kissed Child Without Permission
Casper police officers arrested a man Friday after he allegedly hugged and kissed a child without the mother's permission.
Michael Allen Bingle-Davis, born in 1975, was booked into the Natrona County Detention Center on a recommended charge of disturbing the peace.
Police officers were dispatched to the area of Second and Wolcott Streets shortly before 8 p.m. Friday. The incident occurred inside Frontier Brewing.
A witness told police that he was with a group of friends when he saw Bingle-Davis playing with a small child on the stairs of the business. Bingle-Davis was "acting like a monster and chasing the child up the stairs."
The witness said he believed Bingle-Davis must have been related to the child. As the child backed away and made his way to the upstairs portion of the restaurant, the witness picked up the child and handed him to Bingle-Davis.
Bingle-Davis then said "hugs and kisses" while he was hugging the child and trying to kiss the child on the lips. The child started to scream, the witness said.
The witness said though Bingle-Davis was acting "creepy" bit just assumed he was the child's father. A short time later, the child's mother arrived and grabbed the child, pulling him away from Bingle-Davis.
The mother reportedly said she did not know Bingle-Davis and she seemed upset that he was holding the child. Bingle-Davis abruptly left the restaurant and started walking around downtown, so the witness called police and continued to follow Bingle-Davis until officers showed up.
Bingle-Davis told police that he had consumed two or three beers earlier in the evening. He denied ever touching the child and refused to take a portable breath test.
A second witness told police essentially the same story as the first witness, adding that Bingle-Davis had been trying to start a fight before he was removed from the establishment.
A third witness told police it had been Bingle-Davis who picked up the child, rather than the first witness who claimed he had handed the child to Bingle-Davis. The child's mother also told police that Bingle-Davis, not the first witness, had lifted the boy off of the floor.
Several people reported to police that Bingle-Davis had been acting strangely while inside the establishment.
Bingle-Davis was arrested and told not to return to the business.