Sakinah Aaron was walking into the bus area at
the Wheaton Metro station several weeks ago, talking loudly on her
Motorola cell phone. A little too loudly for Officer George Saoutis of
the Metro Transit Police. The police officer told Aaron, who is five
months pregnant, to lower her voice. She told the officer he had no
right to tell her how to speak into her cell phone. Their verbal
dispute quickly escalated, and Saoutis grabbed Aaron by the arm and
pushed her to the ground. He handcuffed the 23-year-old woman, called
for backup and took her to a cell where she was held for three hours
before being released to her aunt. She was charged with two
misdemeanors: "disorderly manner that disturbed the public peace" and
resisting arrest. [more ]