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Ohio Is Publicly Shaming Another Convicted Idiot

Richard Dameron tells Cleveland's WKYC-TV he's sorry for drunkenly dialing 911. A judge says he has to stand outside a police station each day this week to show that to the city.
WKYC.com
Richard Dameron tells Cleveland's WKYC-TV he's sorry for drunkenly dialing 911. A judge says he has to stand outside a police station each day this week to show that to the city.

Drive by the police station in Cleveland's second district this week and you'll likely see 58-year-old Richard Dameron standing outside with a sign that reads:

"I apologize to officer Simone & all police officers for being an idiot calling 911 threatening to kill you. I'm sorry and it will never happen again."

Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Pinkey Carr, who last year famously sentenced a woman to stand on a street corner with a sign declaring "only an idiot would drive on the sidewalk to avoid a school bus," has handed down another such punishment.

Dameron tells Cleveland's WKYC-TV that "I was under the influence of alcohol" when he called 911 and issued the threats. "I do feel bad about it."

He later missed a court appearance. Now, Dameron's under orders to be outside the police station with his sign each day this week.

(H/T to Gawker.)

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Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.