Dylan Ticket Seller Tangled Up in Blue

October 24, 2002

Last Wednesday my wife and I, along with a friend, drove 60 miles to see Bob Dylan in concert at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles. My friend's wife is undergoing chemotherapy treatments and her health didn't allow her to use the fourth ticket. "No problem," I thought.

At the venue I quickly walked about trying to sell her ticket for less than face value. Upon showing one person the ticket and the lesser price I was selling it for, she showed me her badge. I was handcuffed, escorted by two officers to a police van, searched and loaded into the van with three others.

At the station I was finally uncuffed, searched again and had my shoelaces taken away. Eventually I was booked, cited for a misdemeanor, fingerprinted and posed for a mug shot. After three hours I was released and told to return to face a judge in L.A. in two weeks. I had to take a taxi back to the Wiltern to try to find my panic-stricken wife, who had no idea where I was.

Who am I? A 56-year-old teacher who has been teaching for over 30 years and has never been in any trouble of any kind. Are you as proud of our police force as I am -- to have taken a "criminal" like me off the streets while so much other chaos and terror reigns around the world? What is the cost of the manpower to deal with such a trivial incident as this? I remain in shock and furious.

Perry Stampfel

Laguna Beach

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