Woman Charged for Squirting Breast Milk at Deputy

[jessicas0778]

A Kentucky woman was charged with assault after she allegedly squirted breast milk into the face of a deputy, sparking online debate Sunday in the local media.

Toni Tramel, 31, was arrested Thursday for public intoxication in Owensboro, WYMT-TV reported, but it is what she did next which has attracted headlines.

As Tramel changed into an inmate uniform, she squirted a stream of breast milk into the face of the female deputy watching over her.

A press release from the Daviess County, Kentucky, Detention Center, said that after the deputy decontaminated herself from the "bio-hazard", Tramel was charged with third degree assault.

While the public drunkenness was merely a misdemeanor offense, the assault is a felony charge and a US$10,000 bond was set.

Reports of the case have sparked debates about whether using breast milk as a weapon should constitute a felony assault case, with many readers likening it to an accused person spitting on an officer.

Also sparking feedback has been the use of the term "bio-hazard" to describe breast milk.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,588 ... latestnews

I was born in Owensboro, raised about 20 miles outside of town.   Can't we keep the most popular people out of Owensboro as Darrell and Michael Waltrip and maybe Johnny Depp (he was born there, too ya know?) ?  No, we have to have a woman using breast milk as a weapon.      

[willow]

What the heck????????

[Tom67X]

Bio-hazard?  Assault?  

Ridiculous is not even close to the right word...I don't think one exists. Still, I am impressed at the woman's control- to actually squirt a stream and hit the "officer".  Not bad.  Not bad at all.

[jessicas0778]

Bio-hazard?  Assault?  

Ridiculous is not even close to the right word...I don't think one exists. Still, I am impressed at the woman's control- to actually squirt a stream and hit the "officer".  Not bad.  Not bad at all.

     No kidding, Tom.

[crazy-cajun]

I am guessing that her ability to hit her target comes from being a Swiss Miss Milk Maid. I am sure she practiced on hitting the cats in the mouth. Still this is UDDER-ly despicable of her. This bio-hazard is so dangerous as it is full of all kinds of chemicals that help kids grow up healthy and strong, things like vitamins, minerals, and other health protecting things like this. Now that poor deputy may be forced to live another year longer.

[wcg7777]

if i am not mistaken if she was infected with aids it to would be in the fluid squirted into the officers face. I think the deputy had every right to do what he did.

[Tammy]

  Why was she drinking in the first place.  A nursing mom should not be drinking.  I think the cop had every right to do what he did.

[crazy-cajun]

First of all it was not a he deputy but a she. If it were a he, I would have a serious problem with this story. Secondly I have a question and that is can AIDS be transmitted through brest milk? On the surface it sound plausible but there could be factors in the milk that keep it safe. Of all the cases of kids getting AIDS from their mother's that I remember come from the umbilical cord carrying it to them prior to birth.

I guess Tom and I are the only two who see the silliness of hyping this to the point of a felony offense of assault. Well the case requires that the prosecutor has to prove she her breast milk was a bio hazard other wise it is just another case of people failing to use simple common sense.

[Maranatha]

First of all it was not a he deputy but a she. If it were a he, I would have a serious problem with this story. Secondly I have a question and that is can AIDS be transmitted through brest milk? On the surface it sound plausible but there could be factors in the milk that keep it safe. Of all the cases of kids getting AIDS from their mother's that I remember come from the umbilical cord carrying it to them prior to birth.

I guess Tom and I are the only two who see the silliness of hyping this to the point of a felony offense of assault. Well the case requires that the prosecutor has to prove she her breast milk was a bio hazard other wise it is just another case of people failing to use simple common sense.

I find it silly too. First, I don't know but it could have been an accident. If she was putting on her bra and mushed the boob the wrong way I could see that happening. About the AIDS thing, yes AIDS can be carried through breastmilk however there have been studies showing that infants that have open sores in their mouths are the ones at risk and that once it hits the stomach that it is "neutralized" for lack of better term. So maybe if the deputy had open sores on her face that might be a problem.

:doh:   Why was she drinking in the first place.  A nursing mom should not be drinking.  I think the cop had every right to do what he did.

Not condoning that she was arrested for drinking but she might not have been nursing. Some women continue to produce milk for years after a baby stops nursing.

I am not trying to defend this woman especially if what she did was on purpose, but a felony I find ridiculous.

[Tom67X]

Contrary to to the myth, it is not that easy to contract AIDS, the end result of HIV infection.  In fact...it is quite difficult if not impossible in day to day contact, but a conditioned public believes it is near certain if you come into contact with an infected individual you are at high risk.  Digressing...

Yes, this is another slippery slope matter.  Felony assault is inappropriate and extreme for this.  There is really no charge correct for this incident,although there is one, much akin to spitting at an officer- which is what?  Battery- at worst.  Even that is ridiculous in my book.  Disrespect is about as far as I would allow a charge to go were I a judge.  No penalty.  Not siding with the cop in this even if the woman arrested is a real 'bottom feeder' as it would appear.

Assault
An assault invoves:
1.An intentional, unlawful threat or "offer" to cause bodily injury to another by force;
2.Under circumstances which create in the other person a well-founded fear of imminent peril;
3.Where there exists the apparent present ability to carry out the act if not prevented.
Note that an assault can be completed even if there is no actual contact with the plaintiff, and even if the defendant had no actual ability to carry out the apparent threat. For example, a defendant who points a realistic toy gun at the plaintiff may be liable for assault, even though the defendant was fifty feet away from the plaintiff and had no actual ability to inflict harm from that distance.

Battery
A battery is the willful or intentional touching of a person against that person’s will by another person, or by an object or substance put in motion by that other person. Please note that an offensive touching can constitute a battery even if it does not cause injury, and could not reasonably be expected to cause injury. A defendant who emphatically pokes the plaintiff in the chest with his index finger to emphasize a point may be culpable for battery (although the damages award that results may well be nominal). A defendant who spits on a plaintiff, even though there is little chance that the spitting will cause any injury other than to the plaintiff's dignity, has committed a battery.

The brutality of a police state gains ground every day.  Even little incidents like this mete that out very clearly.