LINN  — Linn Police Chief Sam Ford recently found himself in a situation on Oct. 5 at Dollar General with a woman who refused to identify herself after the chief informed her she had violated the city’s disorderly conduct ordinance.

The incident was recorded and an edited version was posted on social media. Though the woman never gives her name, she is known to Linn police, who had a similar argument in 2021 over being required to produce identification.

Linn Mayor Dwight Massey said the video had been sent to the Attorney General, which indicated that Ford did nothing wrong. “He was well within his duty as police chief,” said Massey.

Several city employees later identified the female in a photograph Ford had taken as Kelsey Snyder, 32.

According to a draft of the police report, Chief Ford explained she displayed a hand gesture as he pulled into Dollar General.

“I observed a female waving her arms as if she were hailing me,” Ford wrote. “As I approached, I could now see that she was actually flipping me the finger.”

Ford told the UD this week that he would challenge the idea that Snyder knew he was a police officer when she made the obscene gesture.

“I was driving my unmarked Tahoe, which looks like every other black Tahoe that comes through Linn every day,” he said. “I was not in uniform and I had a 19-year-old civilian city employee with me in the truck. The only reason I pulled into Dollar General was to take a phone call, which I did to set a good example for my passenger. I don’t believe she knew I was a police officer, which means she was behaving in a way that concerned me. My job is to make sure residents are safe and I didn’t know what was going on with her at first.

“I suspected the female was in emotional distress or possibly impaired by alcohol or drugs due to what the average person would find erratic behavior,” Ford added. “I had never seen this person before, so I did not think this was just a person who disliked the police.”

At issue is an ordinance approved by aldermen in July, which addresses disorderly conduct. The ordinance partially reads, “A person commits the offense of disorderly conduct when such person commits any of the following: c. Without provocation, uses toward, or in the presence, of another person in such other person’s, vulgar or abusive words which by their very utterance tend to incite to an immediate breach of peace, that is to say, words which as a matter of common knowledge and under ordinary circumstance will, when used toward, or in the presence of, another person in such other person’s presence, tends to be abrasive, shocking or abhorrent in nature. This shall include gestures of an obscene nature.”

The penalty for this offense is not to exceed $500. There is no anticipated challenge to the ordinance.

“As mayor, I will say I believe the city will stand by our ordinance, but aldermen have the option to repeal it,” said Massey, explaining the ordinance was thoroughly vetted by City Attorney Kent Brown and Osage County Prosecuting Attorney Amanda Grellner. “They looked at it closely before it ever came to the board for consideration.”

Ford echoed the mayor’s position. “I am not a lawyer,” he said. “I know right from wrong but we had attorneys go through the ordinance to make sure it was sound.”

He noted that other states and cities have laws regulating disorderly conduct, adding that many use almost the exact language as Linn.

Massey noted the city is interested only in improving life for its residents. “We aren’t trying to infringe on anyone’s rights. We want a safe community for families to live in and thrive. I want people to feel better about their town than ever before.”

Ford’s report noted that as he exited his patrol vehicle, he saw Snyder quickly enter Dollar General. “As I entered the store, to assure that she was not a danger to herself or others, I asked an employee if she had seen the female,” he noted in his report. “She stated that the female had proceeded to the rear of the store.”

As he moved through the store, Ford said he could see the female near the back row of the store. “As I approached, the female again began flipping me the finger,” Ford noted. “I asked her several times if everything was okay, and she just continued to flip me the finger.”

He directed Snyder to stop, and she said she did not have to. “I told her that was fine but that I needed to identify her, at minimum, by word of mouth,” said Ford. “Again, she refused. I continued to follow the uncooperative female through the store while she and her male friend videotaped me with their phones. I again stated that she needed to stop and identify herself.”

In the video, Ford is heard telling Snyder that what she “just did is considered disorderly conduct in the city of Linn,” in reference to the obscene gesture.

“No, that’s a First Amendment activity,” Snyder said.

“No, it’s not actually,” Ford replied.

After arguing over whether flipping off a police officer is protected speech, Ford again asked for identification, which Snyder again refused to provide.

“I’m going to see your ID, or I’m going to put you in handcuffs, and I’m going to take you to jail,” said Ford.

“Good luck with that,” Snyder returned.

She backed away from Chief Ford and told him to quit touching her as he attempted to take her into custody, cursing at him loudly.

“Her behavior inside the store was a continuation of the disorderly conduct she displayed in the parking lot,” said Ford.

He called dispatch and asked that a deputy be sent to Dollar General. “I’ve got a subject resisting my detention,” Ford said.

Snyder told the chief he could not arrest her. “Of course, I can,” he replied. “It’s a city ordinance.”

Snyder reiterated that the gesture is protected as affirmed by the Supreme Court in 1987 in Hill vs. the city of Houston. The court found that a city ordinance prohibiting verbal abuse of police officers to be unconstitutionally over-broad and a criminalization of protected speech.

Ford subsequently explained that while Snyder’s display is protected under the First Amendment when directed at the police, it does not protect individuals who are disorderly in public. “Again, I challenge the fact that she knew I was a police officer outside,” said Ford. “Inside the store, cursing and making a scene is disorderly conduct because there were families and employees in Dollar General. This wasn’t about me. I have thick skin after 20 years as an officer at Lake of the Ozarks. I’ve been flipped off by old ladies and teenagers. That doesn’t bother me, but when that conduct occurs in public, we have a problem.”

During a continued walk around the store, as Snyder and her husband were each recording Chief Ford, he told them that YouTube didn’t impress him.

After several minutes, Snyder stopped and handed her husband her phone, then offered her wrists to Ford, who escorted her from the store, using “soft, empty-hand tactics,” according to his report.

They walked to his patrol vehicle, which was parked nearby, where Ford retrieved a pair of handcuffs and placed Snyder in properly fitted hand restraints. “I checked to make sure that I could place my finger between the handcuffs and the inside of her wrist,” Ford noted. “I only felt it was necessary to handcuff her as she had made several attempts to resist my detention and failed to identify herself numerous times.”

Ford asked a nearby female deputy on the scene to take control of the detainee, hoping that a female officer may calm Snyder. “It did not,” Ford noted. “The subject refused to identify herself to the female deputy as well.”

Ford asked the deputy to place Snyder in her patrol car.

The video shows the deputy adjusting the handcuffs after Snyder complained of pain.

A few minutes later, she was released from the cuffs, and Ford asked her to talk to him at his patrol vehicle.

He asked Snyder to explain her problem with the Linn Police Department.

“You just handcuffed me because I flipped you off,” she replied. “I have marks on my wrists.”

“They’re not made for comfort,” Ford said.

“Why did you handcuff me?” Snyder asked.

“Because you were resisting my detention,” Ford answered.

Again they disagreed on whether the gesture was protected speech, and again, Snyder refused to identify herself.

“So, I’m going to have to take you to jail to identify you,” said Ford.

When that failed to result in identification, Ford reiterated his question about her problem with the police.

“Linn PD has (expletive) with me too many times,” Snyder said.

“What does that have to do with me?” Ford asked.

Snyder didn’t answer. Instead, she said, “If you’re going to illegally detain and arrest me …”

Ford denied illegally detaining her.

The chief told Snyder that he thought she was flagging him down for help. She showed the gesture again, noting that was what she had done.

“That’s not what you did, but that’s okay,” Ford replied.

“So, because you thought I needed help, you’re allowed to detain me?” Snyder asked.

“I’m allowed to come and ask you, ‘Are you okay?’ That’s exactly what I said,” Ford noted.

“You cannot detain me unless you have reasonable articulable suspicion of a crime and there was no crime committed so good luck,” Snyder said.

She told Ford her fingers were tingling from the handcuffs.

Ford told her the cuffs weren’t tight; he said he could get his finger between the cuffs and her wrists.

“They kept tightening more and more,” Snyder insisted.

Ford then called Grellner, who helped draft the ordinance. He explained the situation, noting the female would not identify herself, so he could not write a summons.

“Is your name Kelsey?” Ford asked while on the phone.

“I’m not answering questions,” Snyder replied.

Ford and Grellner decided the female could be identified by her photograph and released without further disturbance to the business.

Snyder told the chief the illegal detainment was going on 20 minutes, to which he said again it was not illegal.

“All you have to do is identify yourself, and you’d be fine,” said Ford.

When she again refused, Ford told her to move along. “Go away,” he said.

“Why?” Snyder asked.

“Because I’m done with you,” Ford said. “Go away.”

Snyder said she was just getting started with the chief, adding he would be dismissed from his job.

“I doubt that highly,” Ford said.

Snyder requested an ambulance be dispatched to check her out, saying her wrists hurt.

Osage Ambulance District responded to the scene and examined Snyder.

According to Ford’s report, the medics said they did not observe injuries to the female.

Once Ford was satisfied he had positively identified Snyder from her photo, he issued a citation to be mailed on Oct. 6. He later sent a letter to Snyder rescinding the citation. “There are deeper issues with the police department than I was aware of at the scene, and I felt it was better to drop the charge,” Ford explained, noting he was later informed that Snyder had a long history of being anti-police in the city of Linn, including harassing the city clerk, police officers, and aldermen.

At times, he said, Snyder put videos on social media after “baiting” officials into a confrontation.

Regardless of what prompted the interaction, the end result is negative. “It is unfortunate a single person can disrupt the entire community because of a misunderstanding,” said Massey. “I hate that there is mistrust and conflict because we have many other things to worry about.”

Ford agrees. “Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but her vitriolic comments invite hatred,” he said.

Osage County 911/EMA Director Ron Hoffman told commissioners that because Snyder urged those watching the video to call 911, which created a surge in calls.

Neither Hoffman nor commissioners felt a legitimate emergency prompted those calls, but the volume could have slowed dispatchers dealing with a house fire, a car accident, or a violent crime. Hoffman noted several calls to other county offices and the Emergency Operations Center’s (EOC) non-emergency number. They all complicated telecommunicators’ workload.

Hoffman noted 71 calls were made to the 911 center and countless other calls logged on other phones through the clerks office, GIS, emergency management, and the fire department, including cell phones.

“We lost count of how many Facebook posts were made between the sheriff, 911 and Linn Fire,” he added. “They took a lot away from fire prevention week for us at the fire house. Their constant phone calls to 911 definitely interfered with emergency calls. Their comments were all over the place about how Linn Missouri is a den of communism, and how we should ban together to fire Chief Ford or we’re no better than he is as a bunch of non-constitutional following hypocrites.”

Hoffman recorded some of the phone calls to the admin lines but noted that dispatchers shouldn’t have to listen to this.

If anyone was dissatisfied with what became of those calls, “It’s not our fault,” said Hoffman. “We don’t mind the people voicing their opinion, but they shouldn’t call the 911 Center.”

“I’d say people who have a grievance, make sure they call the right department,” said Osage County Presiding Commissioner Darryl Griffin. “You’re putting your community in danger.”

He felt the frenzy in the EOC was an incited event. Nor did he care for the calls other county officials had to handle. 

City Clerk Carrie Grellner also fielded a multitude of calls, many of which were from across the nation with no connection to Linn.

Snyder told Ford she would consider filing a civil suit against him and the city of Linn.

Ford spoke with the Attorney General’s office as well. “I was told there was nothing wrong with what I did,” he said. “There are no grounds for a suit because there were no damages. I didn’t initiate a takedown or frisk her. I didn’t take her to jail for two days for not identifying herself. I’m quite confident in our position at the city with this ordinance and how I handled the situation.”

Ford added that he would like an opportunity to discuss the origins of the problem and work on a solution with Snyder. “I’ve invited her and her husband to come to the office and talk, or meet somewhere for a glass of tea and discuss this,” he said. “I would love that opportunity because I’m not the guy who was here before that caused this distrust of the department. I want to get along with everyone, and I’m proud of the work we’ve done since I took over as chief. We are in the community every day, doing our part to make sure our community is safe, and provide equal and fair law enforcement.”