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Tuesday, December 30, 1997

Foot fracas has Austin couple up in arms

AUSTIN (AP) - An Austin man who dangles a fake foot from the back door of his van as a joke has filed a complaint against a gun-wielding police officer who put him in handcuffs, believing the foot was real.

Austin construction engineer Jim Rankin, 44, filed the complaint against University of Texas police Sgt. Chris Myers.

UT police have declined comment while they look into the matter.

"An internal investigation will be conducted regarding your contact with Sgt. Myers on Dec. 16, 1997, and the allegations described in your letter to (UT Police) Chief (Donald) Cannon," UT Police Lt. Robert L. Ewan said in a letter to Rankin.

Rankin was sitting in rush-hour traffic early in the morning of Dec. 16 on Interstate 35 in a red '97 Dodge Caravan when he said a man carrying a UT police badge approached him with his gun drawn and told him to get out of the vehicle.

"He jumped out of a ... completely unmarked car," Rankin said. "Then suddenly there's a guy with a pistol right at my face yelling, 'Get out! Get out!' "

Rankin said the man told him to get up against his van, then put handcuffs on him. Rankin said it then dawned on him that the plastic foot might be the problem.

"I said, 'That foot's fake. It's plastic,' and he said, 'We don't know that yet,' " Rankin said.

After that, the officer touched the gag foot, Rankin said.

"He says, 'That's a sick, sick joke. That's disgusting,' " Rankin said.

Rankin said he then was led, still handcuffed, across a parking lot into a nearby delicatessen.

"All the officer said to us was, 'Would you dial 911?' " said Ran Shabat, the deli's manager. "We did that. Then he proceeded to lead the gentleman back outside. It was morning rush hour. He had him stand by his car in handcuffs. It was very embarrassing. Cars were driving by."

In defending his actions, Myers told the Austin American-Statesman, "I'm very cautious about that because it's not unusual to find body parts in a vehicle. He (Rankin) said it was a Halloween prank. He must love Halloween."

Rankin said he and his wife, Susan, have owned the foot since before Halloween of last year and frequently drive around town with it hanging out of the back of their car as a joke.

"Some people put wreaths on grilles, others put fake feet out the back," Rankin said.

The Rankins said they were surprised anyone would think the fake foot might lead to a real leg.

"I'm normally the one driving the van and the foot around," Mrs. Rankin said. "And the only one fooled before was a 3-year-old at preschool."Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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