Lang
9/24/21
Hurling racial slurs at police and pedestrians on the Ped Mall has led to the arrest of a local transient.
Iowa City Police were called to Hawkeye Smoke and Liquor on the 100 block of East College Street just after 3:45 Thursday afternoon for a subject in a Kum & Go shirt with a sleeping bag drinking from an open container of alcohol outside. Arriving officers found 56-year-old Shelter House resident Emile Harris with an open can of hard seltzer. Harris was told to move along, but police say he responded by calling the officer a “dirty Mexican” and proclaiming “all Mexicans are dirty mutts” as he flashed the officer his middle finger and yelled other expletives.
Police say they attempted to walk away, but Harris began directing abusive racial epithets at other passersby, and they intervened to prevent a potentially violent response.
Harris was arrested and charged with Disorderly Conduct and Having an Open Container of Alcohol in Public. He pleaded guilty on Friday and was sentenced to one day in jail.