Lesbian couple file lawsuit claiming they were arrested for kissing and holding hands
A lesbian couple has filed a lawsuit against an off-duty local police officer who they say harassed and wrongfully arrested them when they were on holiday in Hawaii.
Courtney Wilson and Taylor Guerrero, from Los Angeles, claim that they arrested after kissing and holding hands at a Honolulu grocery store in March.
According to the lawsuit, the police officer began to harass them after noticing their public displays of affection at a Foodland store.
Ms Guerrero spoke about the incident at a press conference on Wednesday. According to her, Honolulu Police Officer Bobby Harrison said "Hey, you girls can't do that in here."
"We were holding hands and I was kissing her cheek," she added.
After this, they stopped and kept shopping, according to the law suit, but when Mr. Harrison saw them continuing the behaviour at a later time, he threatened to throw them out of the shop.
The officer, who according to police was in uniform but off-duty, then allegedly followed the couple to the cashier line and said the store was going to issue them a written trespass notice.
Ms Wilson said that she then rang the police, and doing so caused Mr. Harrison to grab her arm.
Ms Guerrero then stepped in to move between her girlfriend and the officer.
After this, the couple allege that the officer struck Ms. Wilson and threw Ms Guerrero to the ground.
Wilson also claims the officer punched her in the face.
The charges filed against the women were eventually dismissed.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/hawaii/11964998/Lesbian-couple-claim-they-were-arrested-for-kissing.html