BUTLER TWP. — A business’s request for a person to leave its property can mean a trip to jail for the person who refuses to heed the request.
The process begins with the business’s decision to request to law enforcement that the person be “trespassed.”
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Management at a McDonald’s on York Commons Boulevard in Butler Twp. started that process this week when a customer, identified as Latinka Hancock, refused to leave after she complained about the food she received. What happened between the time the call went to police and Hancock being punched in the face by a Butler Twp. police officer is not what was supposed to happen.
News Center 7′s Mike Campbell looked into how the process of “trespassing” someone is supposed to work.
His reporting shows that large organizations, such as hospitals and apartment complexes, use the trespass complaint the most. But smaller businesses, such as gas stations and restaurants, use the complaint as well.
“Ask a person to leave. They refuse to do so, so then police are called,” Dayton Chief City Prosecutor Stephanie Cook told Campbell.
Cook made clear that the process she described is how it works in Dayton -- not Butler Twp. -- noting she cannot comment on the Butler Twp. incident.
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She also made it clear that businesses don’t always follow up on trespassing complaints after calling police.
“Sometimes it just seems like they want the officer to come and remove the individual, eliminate the problem and not follow up with criminal charges,” Cook said.
But, she said, a trespassing complain can end with a trip to jail.
“It is usually officer discretion if they are going to arrest that person at that time or if they prefer to do it by way of summons,” she said.
What has not been made clear is whether the Butler Twp. police officers intended to arrest Hancock.
Police Chief John Porter said Hancock refused to give the officers required personal information as part of their investigation and they were detaining her for that reason when the incident escalated. Sgt. Todd Stanley, a 22 1/2-year veteran of the township police department who threw the punches, has been placed on leave pending the outcome of the investigation into what happened.
Cook said, “Most of the folks, even if arrested, will be released on the condition they come back to court.”
According to Cook, the Greater Dayton RTA, hospitals and Greater Dayton Premiere Management (a housing agency) generate most of the trespassing complaints in Dayton.
Small businesses that do file such complaints do so because actual crimes were committed, customers were harassed or the accused argued with employees.
A conviction on a charge of trespassing carries maximum penalties of 30 days in jail and a $250 fine, according to local and state criminal rules. Most times, judges suspend the penalties when the accused agrees NOT to return to the business.
“It’s up to the individual business how long they want the trespass to last,” Cook said.