Couple, 54 and 55, arrested and spent 23 hours in jail for DANCING at train platform



George Hess and Caroline Stern sued the City of New York after they were arrested and tossed in jail for 23 hours

A two-stepping couple in their 50s say were trotted off to jail after police in New York City arrested them for dancing on a subway platform.

Caroline Stern, a dentist, and George Hess, a movie prop master, were waiting for a train at the Columbus Circle station after a late evening at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Midsummer Night’s Swing last year when they began dancing the Charleston to a musician playing the steel drums.



Ms Stern says she and her boyfriend were feeling the beat and there were very few people on the platform so they started moving to the rhythm.



That's when police came in and spoiled the fun, they told the New York Post .



'They said, "What are you doing?" and we said, "We’re dancing,"' she recalled.



'And they said, "You can’t do that on the platform."'

The officers demanded their ID. When Ms Stern only had a credit car, the police ordered the couple to go with them.



When Mr Hess pulled out a camera to start recording the incident, the officers called for backup and the situation turned nasty, the couple says.



They claim more police ran to the subway platform and tackled Mr Hess, 54, to the floor and handcuffed him. Ms Stern, 55, was also cuffed and arrested.



Officers charged them with resiting arrested and disorderly conduct for 'impeding the flow of traffic.'

Ms Stern told the Post the subway station was nearly empty at the time.

'It was absolutely ridiculous that this happened,' she said.

Prosecutors dropped all charges against the couple, though not before they spent 23 hours in jail.



As a result of the arrested, Ms Stern and Mr Hess are now suing the city of New York for the arrest.

The city paid the couple a $75,000 settlement. 'I'm just glad it's over,' Ms Stern said







