Town to pay for policeman's topless stunt
 

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MIAMI (Reuters) - A Florida city has agreed to pay
$35,000 to a teenage girl who was forced by a
policeman to perform jumping exercises while topless
in order to avoid arrest on an indecency charge.

The Pensacola City Council approved the payment on
Thursday night to settle a lawsuit the girl filed
against the city police department.

Officer Shawn Patrick Shields approached a parked car
and found two partially dressed teenagers inside in
April 2003, according to a police report. The officer
put the 16-year-old girl and 19-year-old man into his
police car and threatened to arrest them for lewd and
lascivious behavior.

The girl said Shields suggested she instead perform
topless exercises as a punishment and shined his
flashlight on her while she did five jumping jacks.

Shields resigned under pressure, pleaded no contest to
a criminal charge of extortion and was ordered to
serve two years on probation, police Lt. Randy Stull
said.

People who should have been weeded out during training.