We have all seen the news lately. Police are getting in trouble around the world for their tactics and for discrimination. What’s behind this? Some say racism, some say profiling. It’s a heated debate. Whatever your position is, we are sure that you will find today’s list interesting. Everyday people are arrested for a myriad of reasons. Whether it is a petty crime like pickpocketing or a felony like murder, police always seem to have their hands full. And without a doubt, this interaction of civilians with police and law enforcement leads to some pretty interesting encounters. Surely it makes for great headlines and entertaining TV shows. Have you ever seen Cops? People love watching drunk drivers get arrested or shoplifters get chased through backyards by out of breath police officers. But when the cameras aren’t rolling and when the TV stations are gone, what happens? Today we are going to read about some interesting stories from situations you may or may not have heard of. Even if you have heard of them though, we are sure that you will find something new and interesting in this list. These are 25 interesting, surprising, and disturbing stories about people being arrested.
And while you’re reading about people getting arrested, why not check out some social media fools who got busted of Facebook.
25
Martin Sheen has been arrested 66 times for protesting.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia24
12 year old Alexa Gonzalez was arrested in New York City for doodling on her desk.
Source: nydailynews.com, Image: wikipedia23
After slaves in the US were freed, some were arrested for not having jobs and then sold to corporations to serve their sentence.
Source: npr, Image: wikipedia22
In 2013, a homeless man named Timothy Dean Alsip held up a store for $1 and waited to be taken to jail so he would receive medical attention.
Source: rt.com, Image: wikipedia21
The longest period of time that Paul and Linda McCartney spent apart from each other during their 29 year marriage was for 11 days when Paul was arrested in Japan for being in possession of marijuana.
Source: people.com, Image: wikipedia20
In 2011, Big Boi from Outkast got arrested while on a cruise for possession of ecstasy. His response was that he thought it was the "love boat".
Source: xxlmag.com, Image: wikipedia19
Robert Downey Jr. was arrested in 1996 for driving his Porsche naked with heroin, cocaine, and a handgun.
Source: biography.com, Image: wikipedia18
According to a study by the NIH (The Helpseeking Experiences of Men Who Sustain Intimate Partner Violence: An Overlooked Population and Implications for Practice), male victims of domestic abuse are more likely to be arrested themselves when they call the police rather than their female partner.
Source: wordpress.clarku.edu, Image: wikipedia17
Before D-Day, some newspapers in England featured crossword puzzles that contained codewords matching allied landing sites. The incident led to arrests and an intense investigation but it was eventually determined to be a complete coincidence.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia16
In 2009 a New York police officer named Adrian Schoolcraft was forcibly placed in a psych ward by fellow officers for revealing corruption in the department.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia15
In 1969 a woman named Vickie Jones did an entire concert where she impersonated Aretha Franklin. Although she was arrested, nobody actually asked for a refund because the performance was so convincing!
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia14
Four years before KGB double agent was arrested, Robert Hanssen was caught using a password cracker on a CIA computer. When he explained that he was trying to install a color printer and needed the admin password, the CIA believed him.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia13
Jamie Waylett, the actor who played Crabbe in Harry Potter was arrested for being in possession of a molotov cocktail during the London Riots in 2011.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia12
In 2011, 19 year old Lyle Monroe Bensley was arrested in Texas after attacking a woman. He claimed to be a 500 year old vampire that didn't want to have to "feed on humans"
Source: abcnews.go.com, Image: pixabay11
In 1924, German children discovered human bones along a river. This eventually led to the arrest of Fritz Haarmann who was killing people and selling their meat as "pork".
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia10
Penal codes 837, 839, and 844 in California allow for private persons to make arrests (837), if necessary summon a large group of people to help (839), and kick down the door or forcibly enter a premises if necessary (844).
Source: legalinfo.ca.gov, Image: wikipedia9
Although Claudette Colvin was arrested for resisting segregation on busses 9 months before Rosa Parks, she was not used as a figurehead for the civil rights movement because she was unmarried, pregnant, and a teenager
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia8
In 2010, SWAT teams raided several barbershops in Orlando, Florida and arrested over 30 people for cutting hair without a license.
Source: reason.com, Image: Señor Codo via Flickr7
In 1993 a man intentionally damaged a levee on the Mississippi River to prevent his wife from coming home so he could stay out later. The levee broke, however, and he was sentenced to life in prison.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia6
In 2008 an FBI agent started arresting meth addicts in a rural Missouri town. Eventually it came to light that he wasn't actually an FBI agent but an unemployed security guard.
Source: nytimes, Image: wikipedia5
Due to a crime wave, police in Milan set up cameras to track petty crime. They found out that some children make $20,000 USD per month by pickpocketing.
Source: abc.net.au, Image: wikipedia4
Several members of a civil rights group once tried to perform a citizen's arrest on President Mugabe of Zimbabwe while he was in Britain on account of alleged torture crimes. Although British law allows for the persecution of people for international crimes if they are on British soil, President Mugabe was not detained by authorities.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia3
In 1998 a women disappeared while awaiting trial for drunken driving and manslaughter. In 2013 she was found in a Canadian bar bragging about how she got away.
Source: oregonlive.com, Image: pixabay2
In 2010 a passenger was arrested at the airport upon arrival in Ireland because Slovakian police had placed explosives in his luggage as part of a training exercise but they had forgotten to remove them.
Source: wikipedia, Image: pixabay1
More Air Marshals have been arrested than the number of people arrested by Air Marshals.
Source: duncan.house.gov
