A Florida man who said he was a registered nurse threatened Orange County sheriff’s deputies after he was arrested following a drunken scene at Disney Springs.
Edward Stephenson, 30, of Brandon, pleaded not guilty in March to trespass, according to Orange Circuit Court records.
“It took three deputies to place his arms behind his back and secure him,” Orange County Sheriff’s arrest report said. “Once secured, he continued to tell deputies he was going to sue deputies. Mr. Stephenson also advised he was a Registered Nurse and told deputies we better hope he is never our nurse in an Emergency Room.”
The incident occurred on January 15. The sheriff’s office released the public document two months later.
Stephenson attracted law enforcement’s attention because he was “being belligerent and cursing at/in front of children,” the arrest report said.
He was reported making inappropriate comments to juveniles at Once Upon a Toy and visited several stores at Disney Springs.
Disney Security asked Stephenson to leave, but then he turned his anger on the security employees, swearing at them and making “derogatory comments.”
Disney wanted Stephenson trespassed.
Stephenson’s brother tried to help calm him down, but Stephenson clenched his fists and appeared ready to fight him, so the brother left him alone.
Then Stephenson was escorted to the Lime Garage, where a family member was supposed to pick him, but “it was later determined that Mr. Stephenson had upset his family because of his actions, and they refused to come pick him up,” the arrest report said.
Now that meant Stephenson had to take an Uber to get off Disney property.
As law enforcement led him to the pick-up area, Stephenson recorded them on his phone.
“While doing so, he continued to walk and not change direction when small children and families were walking,” the arrest report said. “He would sway into their paths and then tell them (to) get out of his way while waving his trespass warning in their faces. Mr. Stephenson was told multiple times to keep walking towards the exit, and he would stop to record and curse at deputies.”
He refused to call an Uber and was still acting aggressively with families and young children around him. Stephenson got so close to law enforcement, he accidentally spat in one deputy’s face, the report noted.
As deputies tried to put him into handcuffs, Stephenson braced his arms. He made the comments that he was an RN before he was taken to the Orange County Jail.
His attorney, Jonathan Meltz, is asking the state attorney’s office to put Stephenson in a pretrial diversion program, according to court records.
Meltz did not respond to a request for comment.
This is the latest in a series of drunk, disruptive guests at Disney Springs. See some of the previous incidents reported by the police below:
- Man Gets Drunk at T-Rex Cafe, Then Unleashes Dinosaur-Like Rampage at Disney Springs Fighting Manager, Knocking Over Child, and Attempting to Bite Sheriff’s Deputy
- Florida Mother Gets Too Drunk at T-Rex Cafe in Disney Springs, Gets Hospitalized, and Abandons Child
- Drunk Guests Take Clothes Off and Brawl at Disney Springs, Slip on Vomit into Bushes During Fight
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