Lawyer Recalls Mooning Cop, Getting Arrested

“Shawn," an assistant U.S. attorney in Seattle, is a polished, upstanding citizen when he’s on the clock. But his naughty side comes out from time to time – including the time he mooned a police officer and got arrested on suspicion of public nudity.

Here is his story told in an interview conducted by TNA citizen journalist George B.

George B.: As an assistant U.S. attorney, aren’t you supposed to stay out of trouble?

Shawn: Yes, I’m supposed to. But that doesn’t mean I do.

How exactly did you get arrested with your pants down?

At the time I was working as a reporter – I wasn’t an attorney then, I just want to make that clear – and I was at an outdoor concert downtown with my girlfriend and her friend. We were walking around when we came up to two guys fighting.

Just fighting on the street?

Yeah. So my girlfriend and her friend, for some reason, tell me to moon the two brawlers.

Why?

I don’t know, I asked them the same thing and they called me a pussy. It was a dare, I guess. So I said, “Fuck it,” and pulled down my pants and bent over right in front of these guys. A moment later, one of the fighters comes up to me, shows his badge and says, “Seattle police. You’re under arrest for public nudity.” I couldn’t believe it.

Were you drunk or something?

Oh, totally. I was wasted.

So what then? Were you cuffed and taken away?

Yup. Put in the back of the car, taken to the station and booked. The funny thing was that once in a while I would be working nights covering the cops beat. I tried to play that card, but they weren’t having it.

Did they throw you in the clinker?

No, I didn’t have to go to jail. I got a ticket. But I was nervous, because at the time I was applying to law school, so I hired an attorney and waived my right to my court appearance and had him speak for me. When he told me he pleaded my charge down to loitering, I was like, “What? That’s what johns looking for prostitutes are charged with? That’s even worse” (laughs).

Was it a problem getting into law school?

No, but it has haunted me applying for jobs. When I applied for this job I had to explain it to the top dogs. All the details and everything.

That’s pretty embarrassing.

Yeah. And I had asked other lawyers whether I should admit the charge on the application. They told me to not even admit it, but I was sure it would come up during a background check, so I just put it on there.

Did it ever come up on a background check?

Never. An investigator told me that he couldn’t find anything documented on it. But now that I admitted the charge on my state bar exam papers, I have to admit it on every job application.

Would you ever do something like that again?

Probably, as long as I’m not on the job. I mean, I stripped down and jumped into a hotel pool off the clock.

Really? What was that all about?

I was with my girlfriend and a few other people, drinking at this hotel bar. And right outside the bar is the pool, and you don’t have to be a guest at the hotel to use the pool. So after a number of cocktails, we decided to go out to the pool, and I just stripped to my underwear and jumped in.

Did others follow?

Oh, yeah. One of my friends even decided to practically go skinny dipping. She took off her top after she was inside the pool.

Wow, you’re quite the counselor.

(laughs) I guess that’s about right.