Lang
2/25/24
Iowa City Police tasered a trespassing transient who refused to leave a local convenience store, with one officer being injured during the incident.
According to arrest records, the ICPD was called to the South Gilbert Street Kum & Go just after 12:30 Friday afternoon for a transient bothering customers inside the store and refusing to leave. Arriving officers say 57-year-old Douglas Ridout, who lists his address as Shelter House, was still inside the store when they arrived. Ridout eventually went outside with police, but he reportedly refused to answer questions and kept approaching an officer with clenched fists despite being told to step back. Police say Ridout also refused to sit down, and the confrontation escalated to the point where Ridout had to be tasered. One officer suffered an abrasion to his finger during the arrest.
Ridout is charged with Trespassing and Interference With Official Acts Causing Bodily Injury. If convicted, he faces a maximum of two years in jail.