{"id":11699,"date":"2025-03-29T04:17:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-29T08:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/?p=11699"},"modified":"2025-03-29T04:17:00","modified_gmt":"2025-03-29T08:17:00","slug":"clown-arrested-after-tussling-with-officer-in-palm-bay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/2025\/03\/29\/clown-arrested-after-tussling-with-officer-in-palm-bay\/","title":{"rendered":"Clown Arrested After Tussling with Officer in Palm Bay"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Introduction to the Incident<\/h2>\n<p>A Florida man dressed as a clown got into a scuffle with police in a trespassing arrest caught on bodycam video on Wednesday.<br \/>\n<br \/>\nFootage shared by the Palm Bay Police Department show a man dressed in a long-sleeved shirt with red and white stripes, yellow pants and yellow vest, complete with a red clown nose at the shopping center off Interchange Drive Northeast.<\/p>\n<h2>Details of the Arrest<\/h2>\n<p>Police said the suspect, who had trespassed before and was no longer allowed to be in the area, showed up dressed as a clown resembling the iconic Ronald McDonald character, NBC affiliate WFLA reported.<br \/>\nIn the video, the officer says, &quot;You&#8217;re not free to leave. You&#8217;re under arrest now, put your stuff down.&quot;<br \/>\nAs he attempts to handcuff the clown, the suspect curses, pulls away and resists, video shows. Twice he calls the officer &quot;stupid.&quot;<\/p>\n<h2>The Scuffle and its Aftermath<\/h2>\n<p>In one moment, while the man is pinned to the ground, the office appears to pull a flare gun out of the suspect&#8217;s pocket and toss it away.<br \/>\nThe police department appeared to take a comical approach to the situation, editing bodycam video to blur the man&#8217;s face and include the noise of a honking clown nose every time explicit language is used.<br \/>\nWhen the man is finally placed in the cop car, an office tells him, &quot;You look like a clown.&quot; The suspect replied with more expletives, and then, &quot;I am a clown, stupid!&quot;<\/p>\n<h2>Investigation and Findings<\/h2>\n<p>NBC affiliate WFLA reported that investigators also searched a bag that the man had with him, revealing a pack of cigarettes, box full of clown noses, and more clown clothing.<br \/>\nIn their post on Facebook, Palm Bay police wrote: &quot;What do you call someone who returns to a shopping plaza after they&#8217;ve been Trespassed? &#8230;.a clown. Everyone has a right to feel safe in public spaces. We\u2019re committed to addressing those who repeatedly refuse to respect that.&quot;<\/p>\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>The incident highlights the importance of respecting public spaces and the consequences of trespassing. The Palm Bay Police Department&#8217;s approach to the situation, while comical, also shows their commitment to maintaining public safety.<\/p>\n<h2>FAQs<\/h2>\n<p>Q: What was the suspect wearing during the arrest?<br \/>\nA: The suspect was dressed as a clown, resembling Ronald McDonald, with a red and white striped shirt, yellow pants, and a red clown nose.<br \/>\nQ: What was found in the suspect&#8217;s bag?<br \/>\nA: A pack of cigarettes, a box full of clown noses, and more clown clothing.<br \/>\nQ: How did the police department approach the situation?<br \/>\nA: The police department edited the bodycam video to blur the suspect&#8217;s face and included the noise of a honking clown nose to censor explicit language, taking a comical approach to the situation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Introduction to the Incident A Florida man dressed as a clown got into a scuffle with police in a trespassing arrest caught on bodycam video on Wednesday. Footage shared by the Palm Bay Police Department show a man dressed in a long-sleeved shirt with red and white stripes, yellow pants and yellow vest, complete with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":11700,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-11699","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/media.nbcmiami.com\/2025\/03\/38650536951-1080pnbcstations.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&fit=1920,1080&w=1920&resize=1920,1080&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11699"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11699"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11701,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11699\/revisions\/11701"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}