In the wake of the Key West Police Department's (KWPD) aggressive crackdown on "public nudity" during Fantasy Fest— a number of women were arrested, handcuffed and jailed for playfully "flashing" their breasts for beads— a local woman is accusing the cops of looking the other way after allegedly catching a couple engaging in oral sex in a parked car in broad daylight.
Matilde Campo, who manages a flower shop at the corner of Simonton and Olivia, told Key West The Newspaper that, while checking deliveries on the side porch of the shop at 1:30 in the afternoon on Nov. 28, she saw a couple in a parked car at the curb. She said the woman was giving oral sex to the man.
"Children often use that sidewalk before and after school," said Mrs. Campo. "And I, myself, was offended when suddenly confronted with something like that. They were not even making an effort to try to cover up. So I called the police."
Officer Robert Currul quickly responded and parked his patrol car behind the couple's car.
"When I saw the police car arrive, I went back out onto the porch to see what was going to happen," Mrs. Campo said. "I saw the officer get out of his car, walk up to the driver's side and stand there and watch the couple for a moment. They were still going at it, apparently unaware that the cop was there.
"There is no doubt that he saw what was going on," Mrs. Campo said. "When he knocked on the window, there was a mad scramble inside the car to button and zip up. Then, amazingly, he just told them to move along."
KWPD spokeswoman Cynthia Edwards said Currul told her that he didn't see the couple doing anything illegal, so he didn't make an arrest.
"How could he say that?" Mrs. Campo asked. "I stood right there and watched him observe the couple in action."
KWTN faxed another question to Edwards: Why would Officer Currul tell the couple to move along if they were just sitting there chatting?
"We have nothing more to say about the matter," Edwards responded.
"I was absolutely flabbergasted by the police officer's lack of action," Mrs. Campo said. "And when I tried to report the incident to the Mayor and City Manager, I was just brushed off by their underlings."
But she did get through to City Commissioner Tom Oosterhoudt, who has been an outspoken critic of what he calls the KWPD's enforcement "overkill" during Fantasy Fest.
"Certainly, the police have discretion as to how the public nudity laws are enforced on a case-by-case basis," Oosterhoudt said. "But I wonder why more of that discretion wasn't used during Fantasy Fest."