A video of a man at a Slidell Walmart, being arrested for cursing at his child and a Slidell police officer has gone viral on social media. It started when Kevin Mitchell cursed at his child for nearly hitting the car parked next to theirs with his door.
The officer then confronts Mitchell and tells him not to use that kind of language.
Mitchell can be seen and heard cursing at the officer confronting him. That’s when officers arrested Mitchell for disturbing the peace.
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But was the man's arrest justified? Professor of Law at Loyola University, Dane Ciolino thinks the man's civil rights were violated.
“In this particular case with this particular accused individual from Slidell he might very well be able to argue that the arrest was unconstitutional,” said Ciolino. He adds, “The officer certainly wasn’t stating the law correctly, the accused clearly violated the plain language of disturbing the peace statute, but whether the first amendment protected that speech is a much bigger issue.”
Slidell Police Chief Randy Fandal says his officers did the right thing arresting a man who cursed his child and officers in a Walmart parking lot. The chief says every citizen of Slidell should be able to go to Walmart and not be exposed to someone acting out in this manner.
Fandal says Mitchel was then arrested for Disturbing the Peace for a tirade, in a very public place, while in the presence of multiple children and families.
