Free range grandma and sometime homeless activist Regan Benson went live Wednesday night after she apparently sparked an escalation of police presence at a gas station in Lakewood, Colorado.
Benson explained that she was on the scene as police had detained two people who she said were apparently drinking in the parking lot of a Maverick gas station. When she approached officers, the officers called for backup, with turned a two-unit presence into a six-unit presence at the gas station.
She immediately changed tactics with the police since she was now facing six police officers, switching from an aggressive stance to an overly polite snarky presence. At one point offering the police officers on scene their own dippin’ stix candy so they could “lick the stick” in the privacy of their own police cars.
Benson was accompanied by Luis “Real Constitutional Upholder” Johnson, who was largely mute as he stood at the scene separated from Benson while recording police and displaying his firearm in open carry Colorado.
When Benson joined Johnson at his vantage point, police asked her to step back a few feet from the police vehicles, and she refused their command without incident. Benson was roughly 10 feet from the scene at the time and while snarky, was not actively insulting or engaging officers.
Eventually, Benson got the police to move a police vehicle that was blocking the entrance of the gas station to let a fuel truck enter the parking lot and begin the delivery process.
Eventually, the police let the woman they had detained go free while putting the man in a squad car. After they let the couple kiss each other goodbye, the squad car departed with the man.
Police began to ignore Benson after that, refusing to grant her request for an incident number as they were leaving or to identify themselves when asked.
After police left, Benson went inside the gas station to use the bathroom and was told by the cashiers off stream that police said that they were investigating the couple for retail theft from another store in the area.
She then clarified that she had no intention of going live Wednesday night but had become concerned about her safety when multiple police units came in response to her filming. She made fun of the police for their overreaction and may follow up on the officers’ lack of interaction with her in the future.
In Valentine’s Day related news, Benson posted the following to her YouTube community page:
“As Valentines Day approaches, ask yourself and do the following;
What can I do for someone that can do absolutely nothing in return for me?
Then do it.
These people pictured (I could only share 10) are just a few of the real people that have taught me more about how to love and help without judgement. They’ve made my life and me, better, and they don’t even know it.
That’s how love is spread. It sounds cliche, but it’s not.
You gotta try it. You won’t regret it.”
