Sign Of The Times: Casper Man Arrested For Soliciting Without A Permit
What's your sign?
Richard Currier's was "Searching for Obama's Dream."
But Currier was doing it at the wrong place -- a public roadway in front of the Walmart on East Second Street -- and doing it while drunk, according to an affidavit filed by a Casper Police Officer in Casper Municipal Court.
Wednesday afternoon, two officers were working a traffic stop at the entrance to the store and one of them saw Currier with the cardboard "Obama's Dream" sign.
The officer approached Currier and recognized him from a similar previous encounter.
The officer yelled at him to move along and stop soliciting.
Currier yelled back. "'I'm not soliciting, I'm just making people laugh!'"
The officer saw six cars pull up to him, passengers roll down their windows and offer cash, which Currier refused.
A seventh car pulled up, the passenger window came down, the car drove away, the officer saw two $1 bills on the ground, and Currier picked them up.
The officer walked over and again told Currier to move.
"Currier then began yelling and ranting about 'just holding up a sign' and was quick to point out other signs in the area, such as the stop sign he was standing next to," according to the affidavit.
The officer had forgotten Currier's name, so he asked for his identification.
Currier began to comply, but pulled his ID back and yelled, "'ah-ah-ah! You didn't ask bitch!'"
He peppered his tirade with obscenities as the officer, now accompanied by the other one at the traffic stop, handcuffed him, escorted him to a patrol car, and got a strong whiff of his vodka-inspired breath.
The officer drove him to the Natrona County Detention Center.
"While transporting Currier, (the officer) observed Currier's mood to change drastically from laughing and jovial to angry and yelling," according to the affidavit.
Police Sgt. Joey Wilhelm said Thursday that soliciting, asking for or selling something, is illegal on city property unless the person has a permit from the city.
The sights are common, Wilhelm said.
"Typically, we'll give them a warning, advise them this is against the law," he said.
Their names will be put on a list, Wilhelm said. "The next time that we catch them doing it they usually get a citation."