French fry grandma reads police report, says it's false

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

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Jean Merola, 75, was charged with disorderly conduct and taken to jail after an officer said she blocked his cruiser and was rude and insulting to him.

PINELLAS COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- The 75-year-old woman charged with disorderly conduct after a spat with a Clearwater police officer has read the police report of the incident and says little in it is true.

Jean Merola said McDonald's staff told her to park to wait for her food while she was at the restaurant last week. A Clearwater police officer asked her to move because he couldn't get around her.

The 75-year-old was charged with disorderly conduct and taken to jail after the officer said she blocked his cruiser for 20 minutes and was rude and insulting to him.

On Tuesday, Merola read the report and said the officer slanted the report to make him look good and make her look bad.

In the report, the officer said he told Merola numerous times to leave. A McDonald's manager backs the officer's version, but Merola denies it.

"He did not," she said. "I would have left. What would I want to stick around there for?"

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The report said that Merola called the officer "evil" and told him he was going to hell.

"No," Merola said. "I told him I was going to tell his mother and I was going to tell his wife and kids what he did to a grandma."

Merola said she called the officer a few names after she was handcuffed, but said little else in the police report is accurate.

"He needs to apologize to me," she said. "He shouldn't make up stories. If he wants to tell the truth, okay, but don't make up those stories."

Clearwater police said they would not do an on-camera interview until an administrative report into the incident is complete. There was no dashcam video of the incident.

No one at the McDonald's, which is locally owned, would comment.

An attorney is taking on Merola's case pro bono.