A man told who was arrested at a Disney park after allegedly refusing a temperature check told authorities that he could not be ordered to leave the premises because he paid $15,000 at the resort, according to body cam footage released this week and obtained by The Washington Post.
“I paid $15,000. You can’t trespass me if I paid $15,000,” the man, identified by police as Kelly Sills, told police at Disney Springs in Florida.
According to an Orange County Sheriff’s Department police report cited by NBC News, Sills, a tourist from Baton Rouge, La., dodged a Disney Springs medical screening in February and refused to have his temperature checked when asked by Disney employees.
Deputies and a Disney Springs security manager approached Sills when he was outside the Boathouse restaurant, according to the network. Sills reportedly argued with the security manager, and then the manager told him he was “no longer welcome at the park today.”
Later in the video, Sills is heard asking for his temperature to be taken before being kicked out, according to the Post.
“Will you take my temperature before you kick me out, please?” he asked in the video, according to the Post.
“They’ll do that at the jail,” a deputy responded.
“Well, that’s good,” Sills said.
Sills pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor trespassing charge, NBC News reported, citing Orange County court records.
In an interview with the Post, Sills said he would have “happily” had his temperature taken, but he unintentionally walked in through an exit, not realizing his mistake. He also blamed the security manager for escalating the incident and compared Disney security to Nazis and the mafia.
He did, however, admit that he was in “a bit of a mood” that day after traveling.
The incident occurred in Florida, where coronavirus restrictions have been largely relaxed throughout the state.
Last month, spring breakers flocked to Miami Beach, prompting the city to declare a state of emergency because of the large crowds gathering.
A report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week found that the number of COVID-19 cases in Florida stemming from the virus’s variants had more than doubled over the previous two weeks. On March 20, the state became the third state to reach 2 million coronavirus infections, following California and Texas.
The episode at Disney Spring is the latest in a string of incidents involving customers refusing to comply with COVID-19 restrictions.
In February, security footage captured a Colorado grocery store worker being slapped in the face after asking a shopper to wear a face mask. According to Denver’s Fox-affiliated station, KDVR, an employee at a King Soopers grocery store asked a customer to put on a mask, prompting the shopper to call the employee a vulgar name and slap her.
Last summer, a Colorado woman was caught on camera calling staff “Nazis” after she was asked to leave a liquor store because she refused to abide by the store’s mask policy.
In February, the Transportation Safety Administration was authorized to fine passengers who refuse to comply with mask requirements on public transportation systems.