Woman tapes arrest, goes to jail for not handing camera over to the cop

[The Straight Story]

She stood under the shower, stripped naked except for the underwear she wore like a shield.

As the water fell and eyes watched, Sarah Watkins struggled to breathe, her teeth chattering as she pondered how she wound up in jail for the first time in her life.

A day earlier, she was outside her home, videotaping Akron police officer Donald Schismenos making an arrest.

For parts of two days, the 48-year-old woman was confined in the Summit County Jail before she made bail.

Her crime: refusing Officer Schismenos' demands that she turn over the camera she used to document his arrest of a rowdy drunk.

His supervisors say the officer went against his sergeant's orders ''to let it go'' and instead slapped Watkins with a felony arrest warrant.

Charges against Watkins were ultimately no-billed, or dismissed by a county grand jury, and now Schismenos is fighting a 15-day suspension.

http://www.ohio.com/news/top_stories/82574547.html