A public intoxication charge was dropped against Indianapolis Colts reserve defensive lineman John Gill though he was obviously seriously drunk when he was picked up:
Gill was found passed out in a ditch in the 3600 block of Lafayette Road at about 4 a.m. Sunday, according to a police report. An officer had been sent to check on a man said to be on the ground in front of a car. Gill reportedly had trouble standing, smelled of alcohol and spoke with a slur, the report said.
There was no explanation for why the charges were dropped, so I checked through a number of stories to see I could at least find some expression of outrage over special treatment for a football player. I finally found this:
Indianapolis police typically allow people who are arrested for public intoxication to sleep it off and leave jail without charges.
Remind me to go to Indy if I feel like getting drunk and raising hell in public -- i don't believe that's the practice here. I presume the police would levy charges if the public intoxication escalated into property damage or a major disturbance of the peace. That's fine -- "a no harm, no foul" policy can be defended, especially if police resources are strained by major crimes (as they certainly are in Indianapolis). But a selective enfforcement policy almost invites abuse.
Comments
I think we both would agree that's it silly to prosecute someone for simple public intox, but the Colts have a reputation for not tolerating this sort of thing. It will be interesting to see what happens in the preseason starting next week. I'm guessing this guy gets cut.
And by the way, as generally liberal as I am, I'd cut him. I think one of the strengths of the Colts is their no-nonsense attitude.