Twin dangers — (1) the danger of biting sarcasm, followed by (2) the danger of sarcastic biting — are evident in a police incident reported in the May 27, 2009 Hartford Courant:
Banter among co-workers at the Connecticut Police Academy went too far when an adjunct instructor took another’s remark to “bite me” too literally, according to an arrest warrant.
Francis Woodruff, who is also a training coordinator at the Meriden Police Department, bit a license and applications analyst in the arm, leaving teeth marks and bruising, the warrant says.
Woodruff was arraigned Tuesday at Superior Court in Meriden on charges of disorderly conduct and second-degree reckless endangerment. He was released on a promise to appear.
Woodruff, 51, told state police that he was “horsing around” and only pretended to bite Rochelle Wyler, with whom he constantly jokes. Both are employed by the Police Officer Standards and Training Council.
(Thanks to investigator Jan Richards for bringing this to our attention.)