FOX NEWS

OWENSBORO, KY

WATCHVIDEO

A Kentucky woman was charged with assault after she allegedly squirted breast milk into the face of a deputy, sparking online debate Sunday in the local media.

Toni Tramel, 31, was arrested Thursday for public intoxication in Owensboro, WYMT-TV reported, but it is what she did next which has attracted headlines.

As Tramel changed into an inmate uniform, she squirted a stream of breast milk into the face of the female deputy watching over her.

A press release from the Daviess County, Kentucky, Detention Center, said that after the deputy decontaminated herself from the "bio-hazard", Tramel was charged with third degree assault.

While the public drunkenness was merely a misdemeanor offense, the assault is a felony charge and a US$10,000 bond was set.

Reports of the case have sparked debates about whether using breast milk as a weapon should constitute a felony assault case, with many readers likening it to an accused person spitting on an officer.

Also sparking feedback has been the use of the term "bio-hazard" to describe breast milk.

A very unusual assault on an officer has more than doubled the trouble for a woman in Owensboro, Kentucky.

Thirty-one-year-old Toni Tramel was arrested Thursday for public
intoxication, a misdemeanor. But it's what she did later that has people
talking.

As Tramel changed into an inmate uniform, she squirted a stream of breast milk into the face of the female deputy watching over her.

After the deputy decontaminated herself from the bio-hazard, Tramel was charged with third degree assault on a police officer. Her bond was set at ten-thousand dollars due to the felony charge.

WKYT-TV

OWENSBORO, KENTUCKY

A woman in jail for public intoxication was accused of assaulting a jailer by squirting breast milk at her. WYMT-TV reported that a 31-year-old woman was arrested Thursday on a misdemeanor charge of public intoxication. But as she was changing into an inmate uniform, she squirted breast milk into the face of a female deputy who was with her. 

Comments (23)

Ralph Lillico: Patrol Officer Although "biohazard" might sound silly on a TV sound bite, it is not inaccurate. Our training for dealing with bloodborne pathogens teaches that any bodily fluid or secretion is potentially infectious and should be treated with "universal precautions," i.e. assuming it IS infectious and taking appropriate precautions. In this context, this incident is no different than inmates throwing urine, feces, or blood onto officers. 1 March 08, 2010 Smilton: ... It's disgusting pitiful and potentially dangerous behaviour and should be treated as such. As Ralph Lillico pointed out it is no less dangerous than feces or blood. 2 March 08, 2010 ufifteen: ... This is ridiculous for a couple of reasons. First off it could have been completely avoided. Why would the female Deputy stand so close as to be "squirted" and while the inmate is changing into reds? Guess she couldn't see if there was any contraband from 5 feet away, had to be up close and personal. The same as spitting in a face? Come on, we all know that along with the spit is also a torrent of name calling, threats and hostility. Can you imagine a hostile woman cursing at you while squeezing her bare breasts? Crazy, just crazy. 3 March 08, 2010 Retired LE: ... Too close or not, it's body fluid and the suspect should be charged accordingly. 4 March 08, 2010 sergeant tom: ... Well, I can tell that 'ufifteen' is not in law enforcement ( at least I hope not). Clueless!!!!!! 5 March 08, 2010 stevenacarter77: ... i think she must of practice, to be that good of a shot 6 March 08, 2010 Sgt. T. Lee: ... Just when you thought you heard it all. 7 March 08, 2010 pittmje: ... Let those saying its not assault have feces, urine, saliva or any other body fluid thrown ,spit, squirted etc... on them and see if they then call it assault. You can catch plenty of nasty stuff from ANY body fluid if it is infected. 8 March 08, 2010 MMMM Milk does the body good!!!: ... 9 March 08, 2010 Strat54: ... Is this really true? The reason I ask is because this was a scenario in one of Wambaugh's books. I believe it was either "The Choirboys" or the "The Delta Star." 10 March 08, 2010 enke: ... Just because the inmate made a complete "boob" of herself while being booked, doesn't mean she shouldn't suffer the consequences. Any bodily fluid has the capability of spreading deadly or life changing diseases.... Sorry guys, couldn't resist. 11 March 08, 2010 dstarks: Old copper Has anyone contacted children services? Seems to me if she is intoxicated and breast feeding that someone may want to check on her child. 12 March 08, 2010 Roga: ... might check on the husband..........he may have a hell of a grin on his face 13 March 08, 2010 ufifteen: Hey Sgt Tom... Maybe comment on the story line if you have "any" thoughts. I'm entitled to my 19 years on the road opinion. Promoted Tom to a desk (I hope). 14 March 08, 2010 echo04: ... first of all....gross....secondly, charge her. she squirted her bodily fluids on another person..... to me, its no different than being spat on. i'd be heeated if i were the officer. once i got over the shock of seeing a streat of breast milk shooting my way, from an actual breat. 15 March 08, 2010 YvonneRN: ... I agree with dstarks (Old Copper). Altough some women do have a glass of wine to promote the "letdown" reflex (even though I'm sure LaLeache league might have a fit with that technique) during breastfeeding, drinking to the point of intoxication seems like an impaired mother. 16 March 08, 2010 lcampbell: ... Despite what anyone says, biohazard is biohazard. For anyone to think that an individual squirting, throwing, spitting, or putting by any other means, their bodily fluids on someone else (even breast milk), is not committing a crime, they are absolutely ridiculous. If a child can contract HIV or other bloodborne pathogen from the breast milk of their mother, so can a person who has the breast milk thrown on them. I don't think that anyone who says otherwise would be able to understand until they have to go through all of the treatments that others have had to go through after being exposed to a bloodborne pathogen. 17 March 09, 2010 someone else: ... No one is disputing whether it is a crime, just whetehr it should be a felony. When I first read it, I thought it akin to throwing a drink in someones face which would be simple assault, not a felony. But after reading the comments, and equating it with other bodily fluids like blood or feces, that might be appropriate. I don't know if spitting on someone ranks as felonious assault unless it is containing KNOWN pathogens. Depends on jurisdiction. I imagine it will get knocked down to a misdemeanor in any case when it goes before the judge. And I am so sick of people posting "They mustn't be law enforcement" when there is a disagreement. I bet there's a post like that on every thread. Grow up already! 18 March 09, 2010 tdg260: ... This incident shows that the arrestee, Toni Tramel has zero class. 19 March 09, 2010 arthuj: ... Hard to believe an incident like this would generate so much antagonism among the posters on this site. Stand up for one another. Respect one another. Act like mature professionals. Let the DA in the jurisdiction decide what is the appropriate offense. Have the "back" of the officer that was assaulted. in today's legal system it's always best to start with the most severe charge that meets the lements of the offense since we all know it'll get much less as it moves along (unless it's an LEO being charged for assault like our brother in WI). If you act like this out on the streets, it's no small wonder we're all painted by the same cynical brush by the public. (and yes, I've been an LEO for almost 19 years). 20 March 09, 2010 mcps52: ... ufifteen, Teased my ex once too often, learned she was quite acurate from a good 8 feet away. Call me anything you want - DO NOT assault me with your fluids (of any type). 21 March 13, 2010 KyCop: ... ufifteen it is automatically a felony to assault a corrections officer in Ky with anything. That does not mean it will continue to be a felony. They will have her tested for all those nasty things we worry about and then make a determination. Also if u worked that long on the road u should know that most jails don't have a large room to watch inmates change in. Usually it is a bathroom and has to be out of sight of any other prying eyes. This could possibly have contributed to the Deputy being so close. 22 March 25, 2010 Popeye: ... Cop or no cop, ufifteen is an idiot! 23 April 07, 2010

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