Man Who Fell Off Couch Laughing at TV Show Ends Up Pepper Sprayed, Arrested

[underpants]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,365645,00.html

A British man who was so amused with BBC1’s "Have I Got News for You" that he fell off his couch in a fit of laughter was not so happy when it got him arrested and pepper sprayed.

Christopher Cocker, 36, collapsed on the floor after laughing at a joke on TV, but his neighbor who heard the thud thought something bad had happened and called the police, the Daily Mail reported on Wednesday.

According to police, Cocker initially was cooperative but quickly became "aggressive" when asked his name and personal information. Cocker tried to shut his door on the officers, at which point he was pepper sprayed through a crack in the door.

Cocker then was handcuffed, arrested and taken to court, the Daily Mail reported. An unidentified police spokesman told the Mail that, given Cocker’s aggression, they acted appropriately.

"Within the circumstances, we feel we used reasonable force," the officer told the Mail.

Cocker, of Blackburn, England, eventually pleaded guilty to resisting a police officer and was given a conditional discharge for six months following the May 20 incident, the Mail reported.

"I can't believe it — I was thrown in the back of a police van before being stripped naked and put in a cell," Cocker told the Mail. "I was handcuffed behind my back and my ankles bound with plastic ties before six of them carried me to the van."

[xchrom]

1. it's official -- british comedy is funnier than american comedy. nt

[MorningGlow]

2. But it wasn't quite funny enough to be the "killer joke"

I BEAT OEDI TO THE MONTY PYTHON REFERENCE! :woohoo:
:rofl:

[Orsino]

4. How does pepper spray smell? n/t

[underpants]

5. It smells like burning

I haven't ever been pepper sprayed but I have been teargassed twice

once by a ROTC guy who got kicked out of a party across the hall from the party I was at (we opened the door to leave to a face full of gas)

once in the Army-part of basic training

it is no fun.

[DS1]

7. clears out the sinuses like no medication on earth

[underpants]

8. Don't it though

My arms are flapping
my eyes are open

[Orsino]

9. No one likes CS gas...

...except for this ranger lieutenant I once worked for. When we were doing our annual MOPP exercise in the gas chamber, he was walking around without his mask or any other protective gear. That stuff probably contains vitamins important to building strong rangers.

[DS1]

11. It's possible to get used to it, and some people are simply not affected

but chances are this guy was just being a macho moran :)

[Carnea]

13. Depends on the stuff.

I once put some on my salad . Much to the chagrin of the young lady showing off her latest anti-violence tool.

[Oeditpus Rex]

10. Only because I was still asleep, dammit

But you didn't beat me to this one, did you? (Starts at 2:08.)

Or this one? (Starts at 3:05.)



:P

[MorningGlow]

12. Yeah, I knew I'd never make it if we were in the same time zone!

Ahhhh Python police--classics! Mr. MG and I still quote the dead bishop sketch quite often: "It's a fair cop, but society's to blame."
:rofl:

[Oeditpus Rex]

14. 'Agreed

We'll be chargin' 'im, too."



(Or "arrestin'," depending on which version of the sketch you mean.)



:hi:



Oh — did you ever see that bit as done at one of the Secret Policeman's Ball charity events? As the Salvation Fuzz enter, the family do a surprised hop-and-turn to face them — and, in the process, Terry Jones's wig flies off. :rofl:

[MorningGlow]

15. Yes!

I was a HUGE Python fan starting in high school in the early '80s, and we saw all the movies as well as the TV show reruns on PBS.

I distinctly remember that scene because shortly afterward I was performing in our high school harmony group, doing "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" in costume and choreographed, and at one point we had to tuck our elbows in to our sides and fling our arms out sideways, and my bracelet flew off and went flying into the wings. I cracked up, thinking of the Python sketch, and almost didn't recover!
:rofl:

[Oeditpus Rex]

16. You're an editor as well, yes?

Python geek... word geek... vocal harmony geek...



Yeah, we're gonna get along. :D



Thinking of harmony, do you know of the scene cut from "Holy Grail" featuring King Brian the Wild, who sends his minions throughout the land in search of close harmony groups and executes them when they finish performing? The script is here, and an animation was created for the game "Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail" at Pythonline.

[MorningGlow]

17. Gasp--my long-lost twin! How I've missed you!

Hee. :D

I didn't know about King Brian of the Wild! It looks really good--can't wait to take a look! Thanks for the links! :hi:

[Shakespeare]

3. Wow. Who knew it was dangerous to ROFL?

Don't taze me, bro!

[CreekDog]

6. This never would have happened if he had been watching Benny Hill

:crazy: