Court: Woman defecates in patrol car after reckless conduct arrest
A 55-year-old disabled woman told a Recorder's Court judge Monday that she didn't intend to defecate in a patrol car after officers arrested her for burning clothes on top of a small barbecue pit Saturday.
Beverly Gardner represented herself while facing charges of reckless conduct and reckless conduct by HIV infected persons Monday afternoon.
An officer told the court police first confronted Gardner after they responded to a small fire at Gardner's 1100 Lawyers Lane home. After extinguishing the fire, Gardner told police she was burning clothes on top of the barbecue pit to get rid of mosquitoes in her house. She told police she "did not care" whether she burned the house down, according to court testimony.
En route to the Muscogee County Jail, Gardner informed the two officers transporting her that she was "going to take a sh--" in the patrol car, according to court testimony. The officer said Gardner proceeded to spread her waste around the back of the patrol vehicle with her feet after she had finished defecating.
"Upon our arrival, deputies came out to retrieve Gardner from the car," the officer told the court. "Three of the deputies were so overcome by what they saw that they vomited."
The patrol vehicle used to transport Gardner is still in the process of being decontaminated, according to court testimony. It took four hours for employees to clean the vehicle during the first stage of decontamination.
The officer told the court he knew of Gardner's HIV positive status from a previous call. Police did not specify Gardner's previous charge.
During Monday's court hearing, Gardner repeatedly asked officers if they had pictures or other proof from the incident. She also told Judge Mary Buckner that she had only started the fire because she wanted to rid her house of bugs. The defendant, who uses a wheelchair, denied ever taking the barbecue pit inside the house.
"I was standing on the porch to let the smell go in and get the mosquitoes out of my house," Gardner said. "It was hard to do, because I'm crippled."
Gardner said she attempted to tell the officers she had stomach issues before the arrest, but that they refused to let her use the bathroom.
"When he put me in the car, I told him I said I had to sh--," Gardner said. "I got diarrhea. I got a condition."
When the testifying officer told the court Gardner never mentioned she needed to use the bathroom before the incident, Gardner began motioning wildly and yelling in the courtroom. Several officers waiting for their respective cases had to cover their faces to hide their laughter.
"I didn't mean to do it in the car," Gardner yelled repeatedly after deputies wheeled her from the courtroom. "I didn't mean to do it."
Buckner set a $12,500 bond for Gardner's two charges.
This story was originally published September 23, 2014 at 1:02 PM with the headline "Court: Woman defecates in patrol car after reckless conduct arrest."