Florida man, 51, is charged with spitting at Walt Disney World security guard who asked him to put on mask
A Florida man was arrested after allegedly spitting on a security officer at Walt Disney World after she asked him to put on a mask, an arrest report released Monday said.
Kelly McKin, 51, of North Palm Beach, Florida, faces a charge of battery on a uniformed security officer stemming from the encounter last month.
The security officer was not directly hit, but some saliva got on her forehead, the arrest report said.
During questioning by a sheriff's deputy, McKin denied spitting on the security guard at the Orland, Florida, theme park.
McKin was told not to return to Disney World. The AP said there was no answer Monday at a phone number listed for him in the arrest report.
McKin was outside Disney's Contemporary Resort hotel when Disney World security officer Kristen Goldstein asked him to put on a mask while at the property. McKin said he would wear the mask when he was inside the building, the report said.
When Goldstein told him Disney's policy required masks to be worn at all times, McKin told her to leave him alone and spat on her before walking into the resort, the report said.
McKin was outside Disney's Contemporary Resort (stock image) when Disney World security officer Kristen Goldstein asked him to put on a mask while at the property
Security cameras captured an image of McKin and a bulletin was issued. He was stopped the next day after a Disney worker recognized him.
McKin told police he spoke with the security officer about the mask policy and promised to put his mask on once he entered the building. He said that was the end of the interaction.
'I asked Kelly if he spat on Kristen or if he spat in the general direction of Kristen, and he replied he did not, and was adamant he did not spit on her,' Orange County Sheriff's Deputy Patrick Strawn wrote in the arrest report.
The first reported crime directly involving masks at Disney World occurred August 14, when an Orlando man was arrested for allegedly striking an Epcot security guard who reminded the visitor to follow the theme park's mask rules, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
Enrico Toro, 35, for allegedly hitting the guard in the head and threatening to kill him, an arrest affidavit said. He was charged with misdemeanor battery.
'We expect guests to treat our cast members with courtesy and respect, and while the vast majority of guests have adapted to our new measures, this unfortunate case required law enforcement,' Disney spokeswoman Andrea Finger said in an August statement.
The Disney website says face coverings required for all park guests ages 2 and up (stock image)
The Disney World website provides an explanation of the various aspects of its COVID-19 policy.
'Face coverings are required for all Guests (ages 2 and up) and Cast Members, including those who have received a COVID-19 vaccine. Please bring your own face coverings and wear them at all times, except when dining or swimming,' the website said.
Earlier this month, Newsweek published a list of encounters involving people who ran afoul of security and emergency personnel at Disney World while refusing to wear masks.
They included a maskless guest in February who was reported to have been confronted by a firefighter from Disney's Reedy Creek Fire Department who asked him to step back and put on a face cover. A sheriff's report said the man screamed, 'I do not have a mask, buddy!'
Stephen Johnson, 32, pleaded not guilty to charges of battery on a law enforcement officer, assault on a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer with violence and disorderly intoxication after he began yelling at the firefighter.
The firefighters were assisting Johnson's wife, who appeared to be drunk and had injured her ankle in the lobby of the Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel. He was apparently upset his wife was being taken away and threatened to kill a sheriff's deputy and struggled with the officer before grabbing a gun from the belt of an Orange County Sheriff deputy, the arrest report said.
A Disney spokesperson said most guests have 'overwhelmingly been supportive of our protocols.'
'Millions of guests visit our theme parks each year and in rare instances when things of this nature occur, we hold them accountable,' the spokesperson told Newsweek.
Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek said last month he does not expect the parks to return to normal earlier than 2022.
'We have no doubt that when we reopen up in parks that were closed, or increase capacity, that that we will have some level of social distancing and mask wearing for the remainder of this year,' Chapek said.
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