A costly cut

Bank customer might be guilty of rudeness, but that's all

By The Benton County Daily Record

Posted: August 16, 2009 at 4:12 a.m.

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When Jerri Skaggs entered the downtown Bentonville Arvest Bank on Aug. 8, 2008, and got in line for the next available teller, she probably wasn't aware that she had cut in front of Eric Shawn Baker.

Nevertheless, Baker got upset, thus setting off a criminal case that has amounted to a colossal waste of time.

According to an affidavit of probable cause in the case, Skaggs said she didn't know Baker was in line, but that Baker began to mumble things like, "People don't know how to wait their turn." Apparently, it didn't occur to Skaggs that it might be her that Baker was talking about because she "didn't think much of it and stayed in line waiting for her turn."

Later, as Skaggs was being helped by a teller, Baker approached her, touched her on the back, and told her she needed to learn to wait her turn, the affidavit alleges. (Baker, for his part, denied touching her.)

According to a police report, Skaggs said that when she exited the bank and got in her car, Baker yelled an insult at her, then drove away. (Baker denied yelling anything at her.)

Based on Skaggs' complaint and a subsequent investigation involving three Bentonville detectives, Baker was arrested and charged with harassment, a class A misdemeanor punishable with up to a year in jail.

The case is set for trial next month.

Yes, you read that right: harassment. If that sounds ridiculous to you, you are not alone.

The worst offenses to see here are some harmless physical contact and one hefty insult (it's five letters and starts with a "b") allegedly hurled at the victim. While two tellers told police they observed the touching, the latter accusation is based only on Skaggs' word.

Baker apparently let his anger get the best of him. At the time, he was 33 years old, old enough to know how to deal with such a situation without coming off as a brute. We can understand if Skaggs felt offended and embarrassed.

It's an awfully big stretch, however, to classify Baker's behavior as criminal. Reading the state's harassment law, we can't see how it applies to this case.

It's worth mentioning that Skaggs is the wife of longtime Bentonville District Court Judge John Skaggs. That begs a sensitive question: Would police have invested so much effort and time in this case if the victim had been just another citizen - someone without any connection to the justice system?

The bottom line is that a brief confrontation between two adults that ends without violence doesn't need to consume law enforcement's time or court time.

Opinion, Pages 10 on 08/16/2009

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