MANY people don't realize that you can wind up sitting in a jail cell if you wear a motorcycle helmet in a public store and refuse to remove it when asked.
That's exactly what happened to Freedom Pfaendler, who was arrested after refusing to remove his motorcycle helmet while shopping at a Walmart in 2019.
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The 22-year-old was shopping at a Walmart in Sahuarita, Arizona - about 30 minutes from Tuscon - just before he was arrested in August 2019, according to Speed Society.
The rider decided to stop at the Walmart on his way to work at a nearby car dealership at around 6.30am that day.
After arriving at the store, Pfaendler parked his bike near the entrance and walked inside.
He was dressed in full riding gear and had on a black backpack and helmet.
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He didn't remove the backpack or helmet when he entered the store.
It should also be noted that Pfaendler was listening to music via Bluetooth headphones inside his helmet at the time, which could've made it difficult for him to hear.
At one point, a store manager approached him and asked him to remove his motorcycle helmet.
Pfaendler didn't acknowledge the manager speaking and instead continued shopping without removing his helmet.
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Video of the incident posted to YouTube showed Pfaendler continuing to shop after a Walmart employee attempted to approach him.
That's when the incident was reported to local police.
Several officers from the Sahuarita Police Department were called to the scene.
"According to SPD, the manager reported a man walking around the store wearing a full-faced motorcycle helmet and backpack. The manager told officers he asked the man to remove the helmet several times, but the man, later identified as Freedom Pfaendler, refused," local affiliate KOLD reported in 2019.
At the time, Lt. Samual Almodova, public information officer for the Sahuarita Police Department, said the store manager reported to cops that customers were "kinda freaking out" over the man.
Pfaendler was charged with disorderly conduct and booked in the Pima County Jail.
A few days prior to the incident, a man killed 23 people and injured 22 others in a mass shooting inside a Walmart in El Paso, Texas - which is about five hours away from the Arizona incident, per the US Department of Justice.
“You never know when you are going to start having copycats,” Lt. Almodova said at the time, in reference to the El Paso shooting.
“Just a strange call,” Lt. Almodova said, adding: “After this weekend, people had more of a heightened sense.
“I was on during this time and heard the radio traffic ... my sense of awareness went up."
In 2020, Pfaendler sued the town Sahuarita and five police officers over the incident.
According to the case files, the plaintiff said that he paid for the items at Walmart on the day of the incident and was loading them into his backpack when he was approached by police near a bench in the store.
"[The] Plaintiff explained that he never heard the manager ask him to remove his helmet and did not notice the manager trying to get his attention," the document said.
"Initially, the officers were going to give Plaintiff a lecture and/or trespass him from the store or issue him a citation and release him from the store. However, the tenor of the officers’ interaction with Plaintiff changed and grew increasingly hostile," the file continued.
"Defendant (John) George ordered Plaintiff to 'reach down between [his] legs and pull your head out of your a**,'" during the incident.
Officer George was fired a month later for his actions in an unrelated case involving a traffic stop, per Green Valley News.
During the incident, a driver was tasered and reportedly received a $15,000 settlement from the town.
"George, who was still in a 12-month probationary period as an officer, later landed a job with DPS," the news outlet reported.
Pfaendler was eventually accused of arguing with police and was told to "listen to learn and not to respond."
He was charged with one county of disorderly conduct and spent 17 hours in jail.
Pfaendler's civil case was dismissed by a judge in December 2020.
At the time, attorney Richard Wintory told Green Valley News: “The case isn’t over, this is an easily corrected matter on a technical issue which is why the court’s order gives us this opportunity."
He added: “We will take the appropriate steps and continue on our path to obtain justice for Mr. Pfaendler and to remedy this practice that threatens anyone who offends Walmart’s management with a false arrest.”
The case has been refiled.
As of March 21, 2023, the civil case was sitting in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
An officer at Sahuarita Police Department told The U.S. Sun that they were unable to comment on the case.
The official confirmed that Pfaendler was charged in the incident after he was "asked and approached by the staff" to remove his helmet multiple times.
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However, cops said they were unable to provide an update on the case before press time.
The U.S. Sun also contacted Walmart for comment.
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