In Harrison Township: Canadian woman goes topless near Metro Beach, lands in jail

Steve Perez / The Detroit News "I really think they should be doing something else besides arresting me -- a Canadian citizen and a mother for showing her breasts," says Tania Stacey Clark, a Windsor resident.

By Jennifer Ackerman / The Detroit News

    A 27-year-old Canadian woman was jailed after sunbathing topless on a houseboat docked across from Metro Beach Metropark in Harrison Township.
    Since topless sunbathing is legal in Ontario, Tania Stacey Clark said she thought it was OK in the United States until the Macomb County Sheriff's deputies arrested her for disorderly conduct after disregarding a warning to keep her top on.
    "I was on a Canadian boat with friends from Canada. Everyone told me that it was a Canadian boat and Canadian property," so she could go topless, she said.
    "She said, 'Well in Canada I don't have to wear a top," added Deputy Greg Tench who along with Deputy John Becker arrested her about 6:30 p.m. Saturday. "We told her, 'You're not in Canada -- you're in America and you have to wear a top."
    Clark still can't believe what happened next.
    "They put me in the jail," Clark said. "They gave me a change of clothes and everything -- a jail uniform, blue pants and blue shirt. I've never been in jail. I've never had a speeding ticket for crying out loud."
    The sheriff department's marine division became involved after numerous people at Metro Beach complained to authorities.
    "She was drawing a pretty good crowd," Tench said. "The women were upset. I kind of doubt any man would complain about that."
    Clark, who has a 4-year-old daughter, was wearing only the bottom of a two-piece, "G-string type," bathing suit," Tench said.
    "She wasn't trying to do it inadvertently. She was completely exposed," he said.
    "She was warned one time. She put on her top again. Then an hour later, she was back at it again, and there was a gathering of men on the other side of the beach," he said.
    Clark was released at 9:30 p.m. after posting $100 bond, Tench said. A hearing on the misdemeanor, which upon conviction carries a jail term of up to 90 days, will be scheduled for next week.
    "I will admit that I had a few cocktails but I was nowhere near intoxicated," Clark said.
    Clark said she wouldn't have gone topless had she known it would land her in jail.
    "I could see them giving me a fine. I could not believe they were hauling me off to jail," she said.
    "I really think they should be doing something else besides arresting me -- a Canadian citizen and a mother for showing her breasts."