Six plainclothes cops arrest a sorority woman after she buys
bottled water
Elizabeth Daly, a 20-year-old student at the University of
Virginia, breathed a sigh of relief on Thursday as three felony charges against
her were dropped. Daly had purchased
bottled water from a grocery store, LaCroix sparkling water for a sorority
benefit fundraiser. A group of state
Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) agents in plainclothes then approached Daly,
with her bottled water, cookie dough, and ice cream as she was walking to her
vehicle.
Daly became frightened, seeing a group of armed people
approach her, and ran into her car along with her roommates. The ABC agents suspected the blue carton of
LaCroix sparkling water was a 12-pack of beer. One of the agents jumped
on the hood of Daly’s vehicle. Another drew a gun.
"They were showing unidentifiable badges after they
approached us, but we became frightened, as they were not in anything close to
a uniform," she remembered Thursday in a written account of the April 11
incident. "I couldn't put my windows down unless I started my car, and
when I started my car they began yelling to not move the car, not to start the
car. They began trying to break the
windows. My roommates and I were ... terrified," Daly stated.
Daly’s statement was “factually consistent,” stated
Charlottesville Commonwealth’s Attorney Dave Chapman, but Daly had upset the
ABC agents and was charged with three felonies. Daly was charged with two
counts of assaulting a law enforcement officer and a third felony count of
eluding police. Each charge was a Class 6 felony with a combined total of up to
15 years in jail and $7,500 in fines. Daly apparently incurred the assault
charges when she “grazed” two agents with her SUV. Her front-seat passenger was
in a panic, yelling, “go, go, go” as the ABC agents pulled guns and climbed
onto the hood of the vehicle filled with terrified sorority girls.
The women dialed 911 as they pulled out of the parking lot,
and reported what happened. Daly was planning on heading to a nearby police
station. Instead, she stopped as she saw an agent driving nearby with lights
and sirens.
Daly apologized profusely when she realized the armed group
surrounding her vehicle was, in fact, law enforcement, but the terrified young
woman still ended up in jail. Prosecutors dropped all charges against Daly on
Thursday.
