Victor, N.Y. – Around 3pm Saturday afternoon police got a call from Eastview Mall security that a man was harassing a Salvation Army bell ringer and spat on her outside of the Sears department store.
When police arrived they found Bruce James Littlejohn.
The deputy who responded tells 13WHAM News that Littlejohn appeared to be very intoxicated.
Officers say he had an almost empty sports bottle with alcohol inside. They say he was very loud and uncooperative.
According to the victim, Littlejohn approached her and started to shake her kettle.
The victim repeatedly asked him to stop, that's when Littlejohn spat on her jacket.
The victim then went inside to get help.
It was a random act that got quite a reaction from shoppers.
“That's really rude, said Desire Napoleon. “Whenever I walk by, I always put money in.”
“I think that was extremely inappropriate and totally uncalled for,” Todd Dappen said.
“I think that's horrible. Why would anybody spit on a Salvation Army worker? I mean they're the ones working for the greater good to help those less fortunate,” Dennis Christiano said.
The Salvation Army said the incident took them by surprise.
“That is a very, very, very rare incident, Salvation Army Captain Marci Orr said. “In fact I've been an officer for ten years and have never heard of anything like that happening before.”
The Salvation Army doesn't want this one rare incident to stop people from volunteering.
They say safety isn't an issue.
Littlejohn was arrested and charged with harassment in the 2nd degree as well as disorderly conduct, according to the police.
Police say Littlejohn was also charged with resisting arrest after he physically refused to cooperate with police.
Littlejohn was arraigned in Victor Town Court. He will reappear in court at the end of November.
