Lewis v. State (2001)

In Lewis v. State, 2001 WL 259131 (Tex. App.--Dallas 2001, no pet.), several anti-fur protestors carrying large pipes had gathered outside a Neiman Marcus department store. Id. An off-duty police officer, recognizing that protestors often chain themselves through pipes, approached the group and told them that they would not be allowed to lock themselves together and block the doorway, and that if they did so, they would be arrested. Id. Two and one-half hours later, three people ran from a vehicle carrying pipes and chains. Id. An officer yelled, "Stop! Don't do that." Id. The protestors were then arrested as they attempted to chain themselves together in front of the doorway. Id. On appeal, the defendant argued that the evidence was insufficient because the police officers did not order her to move. Id. The court held that the jury "was not unreasonable in interpreting the first officer's warning to appellant and the others that they would be arrested if they chained themselves together in front of the entrance--combined with the other officer's entreaty to stop and not carry out their plans--as an order to move, disperse, or otherwise remedy the situation." Id.