18-Year-Old Colorado Man Arrested, Fined In Puerto Rico Over Mask Dispute
(CBS4) - An 18-year-old Colorado man was arrested in Puerto Rico over the weekend for not wearing a mask. The U.S. territory requires everyone to wear a mask even if they've been vaccinated.
A news report in Puerto Rico names the tourist as Torino Walter Bickmore. It states the man was "disoriented, uttering profanity, aggressive with passers-by." Officers asked the man to get out of the middle of the street, but the man refused. The man was apparently intoxicated.
Tourists, if you're going to go to Puerto Rico you must wear a mask. @WapaTV reports this 18yo man from Colorado didn't. Police repeatedly asked him to get out of the street. He appears to taunt them. They tased & arrested him as the crowd clapped.
— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) March 29, 2021
????: Frances Rodríguez/ Facebook pic.twitter.com/2o3rAXlNTh
Police also say the man was not wearing a face mask and refused to wear one when asked to.
Police ended up using a a taser and arresting the man.
While prosecutors tried to file charges of obstruction and violation of an executive order, a judge ruled the man was in an alleged state of intoxication and did not understand police commands.
The man was fined $100 for not wearing a mask.