Joe Exclamation
Fidget spinners are one of the hottest toys of the year and they are everywhere! (Gas stations, toy stores, online shopping) However they are not all fun and games and could even cost you your freedom or your life! Here are 10 times fidget spinners got people in trouble.
#1 CHOKING
In 2017 there has already been multiple stories of young children choking on the bearings of the spinner. One Texas mom posted a plea on her Facebook page asking for parents to be more mindful (Kelly Rose Joniac) after she heard her 10-year old daughter choking in the backseat. She had removed one of the bearings to clean it in her mouth and got lodged in her throat. In Australia, (Jade Gervin son,) Angus Gervin was playing with his spinner while lying in bed when one of the bearings got loose, landed at Angus’ mouth and he swallowed it. The bearing ended up in his stomach and he went through a lot of pain before finally passing it.
#2 CONFISCATED
When fidgets first came out, public schools actually encouraged them because they would help students focus and get their work done. However, they are now getting confiscated on a regular basis thanks to cases like Caloosa Middle School, Florida, where a student’s spinner was confiscated because it looked like a Chinese throwing star making it a potential weapon. The case was even investigated by local authorities who determined that the student nor parents had ill intent.
#3 LURING
It seems that to kids, Fidget Spinners have become more popular than candy, and some criminals are taking advantage of this. Chad Ralston was arrested in St. Mary’s, Ohio after using fidget spinners to lure kids close to him. Once they approached him, he would expose himself much to the kid’s horror. Fortunately Ralston was caught and arrested and charged with public indecency and importuning.
#4 UNDERAGE DRIVING
In Indianapolis, Indiana Sheri Cummings asked a mother permission to take her eight-year-old son to the gas station to buy a fidget spinner. Once there, 23-year-old Cummings let the boy drive, almost hitting three oncoming cars including the patrol car. After getting pulled over Cummings, sat in the passenger seat, grabbed the steering wheel and yelled “GO!”. The police eventually caught the car and Cummings was arrested.
#5 THEFT
In this case, fidget spinners led to the arrest of two people in Cocke County, when Sabrina Ashley Martin stole four fidgets spinners form a gas station. Police were able to track down the car and find out where Sabrina lived. When the cops arrived, she took off running down the streets, but also spooked another guy, who took off running as well, (Joseph Braid Jacobs) throwing away a duffel bag in the process. The bag had meth and other drug paraphernalia in it, so Jacobs was arrested and charged as well. None of this would’ve happened if Sabrina had just paid for the fidget spinners.
#6 CALL THE COPS
Any responsible parent will tell their child to call 911 should they ever need help. Which is exactly what a six-year-old boy in Aurora, Illinois did when he lost his fidget spinner on a neighbor’s balcony. The boy said he didn’t know what else to do and called 911. Officers Parish and Podge were sent to the scene to assess the situation retrieved the lost spinner with a ladder and even posed for a picture with the boy.
#7 ON A PLANE
Surprisingly, not all fidget spinners are permitted on planes. In fact, there are some spinners that could get you into trouble at TSA before you even get on to the plane. The spinner in question was much like the one in the school in Florida and was confiscated from a carry-on bag at the Savannah Hilton Head Airport in Georgia. The TSA have said that fidget spinners are still allowed on planes, except they can’t look like weapons or have sharp edges.
#8 BONE CRUSHER
Alligators are not only massive but they are also ferocious so when an employee from Wild Florida put a fidget spinner on the nose of “Bone Crusher” he was asking for trouble. The employee pulled this stunt because he wanted to show how well-trained the alligators were. Luckily for the employee the alligator appeared to just about tolerate the Fidget Craze.
#9 ON A BUS
So we know Spinners are banned in some schools, but surely you can spin away on the ride home? Of course you can. But there is always the risk that someone else wants to spin it too. That’s what happened when a twelve-year-old boy stole a fidget spinner from a nine-year-old while on the bus. When the mothers confronted each other, the cops were called, the school got involved, the boys were to switch buses, the two mothers got into a road rage incident and the whole thing became a steaming hot mess.