A couple who were arrested for kissing and holding hands in a Hawaii supermarket have been awarded an $110,000 settlement after they sued for discrimination and harassment.
Courtney Wilson and Taylor Guerrero, a long-term lesbian couple from Los Angeles, were on holiday in Honolulu, Hawaii, last October when they stopped at a Foodland supermarket to buy some groceries.
The couple strolled the aisles hand-in-hand, like any other couple enjoying a romantic getaway, and exchanged a few brief kisses, attracting the attention of police officer Bobby Harrison, who was also shopping.
He was offended by their public display of affection and told the couple to “take it somewhere else” but when he spotted them holding hands again a short time later, he found the store manager and asked for them to be thrown out of the store.
Harrison then approached the couple as they queued up to pay for their groceries and asked them to leave and when Wilson got out her phone to call 911 to report unlawful harassment, he grabbed her and prevented her from making the call.
When Guerrero stepped in to intervene, Harrison threw her to the ground, struck Wilson and then arrested them both. They were charged with assaulting a police officer and spent three nights in jail and the rest of their holiday sleeping in a park because they spent all their money on bail.
A court threw out the assault charges and Wilson and Guerrero sued the city for harassment and discrimination, eventually settling out of court for $110,000.
