McDonalds helps cops nab Florida granny

Thanks to alert employees of a McDonalds in Clearwater, Florida, police were able to remove a potential terrorist from the streets for a short while, until she was released by a liberal judge or somebody. They didn't even have time to use any "enhanced interrogation techniques"to get a confession.

Here are the stunning details as reported by Clearwater's Local6.com (1/21/08)

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- A 75-year-old woman was arrested at a Clearwater McDonald's drive-thru, because police say she wouldn't pull her car forward.

Authorities said Jean Merola, a grandmother of eight, was arrested for disorderly conduct after she refused an officer's orders to move her car while she waited for the coffee and fries she ordered at the drive-through window. Merola said the McDonald's employees told her to wait there for her food. Merola was handcuffed behind her back and put in the cruiser. Another officer arrived and took her to the Pinellas County Jail . Merola said she was searched, photographed and fingerprinted. Jail records show she was released about 90 minutes later on her own recognizance.

Just her good luck she escaped back into obscurity before the Guantamo shuttle could get there. This is another case of a heavy-handed response to an incident that shouldn't have been an incident, except for the complete lack of brains and tact by the McDonalds employees. Or maybe I'm wrong. It's possible that someone went out to talk to her, but when they saw she was elderly, decided to call in law enforcement, fearing that if she actually got her order she might spill her coffee in her lap.

In truth, it demonstrates the damage the pervasive "fear culture" does to innocent people. And it is becoming more and more common to hear of similar incidents of overreaction to simple problems. How sad for America. How sad for her, and all the other victims of irrational fear.