WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-Jury sides with NYPD on clown's lawsuit
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Associated Press - November 19, 2009 5:05 PM ET
NEW YORK (AP) - A federal jury has ruled that police did not use excessive force when they arrested a clown who left a suspicious device at a Manhattan Starbucks that turned out to be a balloon inflator.
Alexander Alhovsky was arrested in 2006 after a 911 call from the coffee shop saying a suspicious package was left there. The bomb squad tested the device, which had tubes and wiring, and set up surveillance.
Alhovsky went to the Starbucks the next day and was arrested after officers saw he had a similar device. He said he was a clown and the device was used to inflate balloons. His arrest was voided when authorities searched his home and found nothing suspicious.
He claimed the arrest caused him physical and mental injuries, and showed up to court in a clown suit.
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