Warning drivers gets woman arrested

A Houston woman's attempt to save drivers from a speeding ticket landed her something worse: 12 hours in jail.

As she rode her bicycle home from a grocery store last week near downtown Houston, Natalie Plummer noticed police officers pulling over speeders. After she parked her bike and turned one of her grocery bags into a makeshift sign warning drivers about the "speed trap" ahead, an officer drove up and arrested her.

"I was completely abiding by the law," Plummer told ABC's affiliate KRTK. "I was simply warning citizens of a situation ahead."

But Houston police saw it differently, and arrested Plummer for standing in the street where there a sidewalk was present, a misdemeanor charge. Houston police spokeswoman Jodi Silva said that officers found Plummer standing in the street, waving her arms as she held the sign. But Plummer denied ever leaving the sidewalk on West Dallas Street, alleging that the arresting officer invented a reason to detain her.

"He couldn't take me to jail for holding up this sign or he would have. So all he could do was make up something fake about it," Plummer told KRTK. The officer searched Plummer's backpack, she said, and threatened to arrest her for obstructing justice, a felony charge.

I was so clever

Can you really imagine anything worse than this sign to hang over a restaurant.

I look back on this and wonder why my family didn't have me committed when I decided to do that. I momentarily thought I was being so clever, "Eat under the Golden Arch."

I could envision people lined up to eat at our place. I forget the TV show that was on then, but they loved things like this. So I sent them this picture, they never got back with me.

Looking back, I have to wonder just why, someone didn't bring to my attention as to how inappropriate the sign was, over the door of a little family restaurant, in a little rural community.

I even did some ads using the term, "Arc De oro" or something like that. We had a French teacher who ate at Dooley's, and I asked her about it, she gave me the French translation, and I used that in a newspaper ad. I had hoped I would get used by McDonald's, for the publicity, but nothing happened.

I have done a number of stupid things in my life, this sign rates near the top.

I remember the sign painter from Granville, when I told him what I wanted, he asked me, "Are you sure that is what you want?" No doubt in my mind, it was a great, clever idea that would have a great impact on the business. We were in business for a couple of years or so. That's about my ADD time limit though.