TEXAS CITY, Texas Johnny Ray Fennell said he was preparing to mow his yard when police pulled up and started questioning him about a domestic assault he had nothing to do with. After being peppered with questions from three officers, he cursed.
That cost him a night in jail.
Fennell said on May 30 about 7 p.m., he was getting set to mow his yard in the 3400 block of Texas Avenue when the first patrol car pulled up. He said the two officers in the car got out and started to question him about a domestic dispute.
Fennell, who lives alone and doesn t have a criminal record, said he told the officers he didn t know what they were talking about.
When a third officer arrived, Fennell said the questioning intensified to the point he said officers accused him of assaulting a woman. He denied the allegations.
As the questioning continued, Fennell said he became flustered and said to the officers: I don t know what (f---ing) woman you are talking about.
That s when one of the officers slapped a pair of handcuffs on Fennell and hauled him off to jail on a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct cursing. The 53-year-old man spent 15 hours in the city jail before he was released on a personal recognizance bond.
Capt. Brian Goetschius said officers were in the area after getting a call of a couple fighting on Fennell s block. The caller said the woman involved in the argument was wearing a white T-shirt and the man was wearing a pair of shorts and no shirt.
Fennell said he wasn t wearing his shirt as he prepared to mow the lawn but denied he had been involved in any argument.
Police never found the woman described in the reported fight, and after Fennell s arrest, officers did not pursue the incident.
As for the arrest for cussing, Goetschius said the officers made the decision based on what they believed to have been an aggressive statement by Fennell. He said any other details about the incident would have to come out in court.
Fennell, a lifelong Texas City resident, has a history of diagnosed emotional and depression problems. According to his medical records, Fennell is flustered easily, and when he is under stress, he tends to ramble and his speech quickens.
He also suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and scleritis, which in addition to joint problems, also causes constant redness of eyes, which could make someone appear to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to medical reference libraries.
Fennell said during his confrontation with officers, police suggested he was drunk.
A psychiatrist from the Gulf Coast Center who treated Fennell a couple days after his arrest noted Fennell threatened suicide several times during their session, according to medical records. The doctor did not believe Fennell was a threat to himself but did prescribe an antidepressant.
Fennell plead not guilty to the charge during an arraignment Friday and is due in court next month. That might not be the only court that hears the case.
Fennell said he is seeking out an attorney to represent him in a possible complaint against the police department. He said he believes his civil rights were violated and that officers should not have questioned him about an incident he maintains he was not involved in.
Fennell also claimed an officer cursed at him while in jail, using the same language that landed Fennell behind bars.
Fennell had yet to file a formal complaint about the incident, Goetschius said.
I want a public apology, Fennell said. I didn t deserve to go to jail. I should not have been arrested.
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