Quirky World ... Polar bear chills Londoners on trip on Arctic Circle line
The 2.5m-long creature was spotted in Hampstead Heath, the London Underground, and South Bank.
The animated animal was constructed by 19 prop specialists, who spent two months designing and building the replica bear.
Two puppeteers from the West End show War Horse controlled the movements of the bear, which was built to promote Sky Atlantic’s new “Arctic-noir” series Fortitude, from inside.
The thriller, set in a fictional town where 3,000 polar bears menace 713 residents, stars Stanley Tucci, Michael Gambon, Sofie Grabol, and Christopher Eccleston and launches on Sky Atlantic tomorrow.
Sky Atlantic director Zai Bennett said: “We wanted to bring a realistic polar bear to the streets of London to give people an up-close experience of what it must be like to come face-to-face with one of the biggest, but uncredited, stars of our new show.”
An Oregon man who claims his rights were violated last year when he was arrested outside the federal courthouse in downtown Portland for playing his violin in the nude is suing the police department and others for $1.1m (€965,000).
Matthew Mglej, 25, says officers used excessive force, unlawfully detained him, and violated his constitutional rights when they arrested him during his free expression demonstration last May, according to the lawsuit filed in the Portland Division of US District Court of Oregon.
Mglej, of the Portland suburb of Hillsboro, says officers dragged him across concrete to the police car while he was naked, dropping him several times in the arrest process, according to the lawsuit. He also says he had cuts on his wrists from the handcuffs and was not allowed to contact a lawyer.
Officials with the Portland city attorneys office declined comment, saying they had not yet been served with the suit. Portland police and officials with the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, also named in the suit, declined comment.
Police said officers responded to Mglej’s demonstration, in which he stripped off his clothes, played his violin and made signs about freedom, after receiving numerous complaints.
Portland police said at the time that Mglej had been warned he would be arrested if he continued his naked demonstration. He was ultimately arrested for violating Portland city code, which prohibits indecent exposure.
According to the lawsuit, Mglej told officers he was within his rights to demonstrate. His lawsuit says people were cheering him on and taking pictures.
Mglej also says he suffered emotional pain because during the arrest he was separated from his service dog Belle, who helps him with his post-traumatic stress disorder. He also says officers taunted him for crying and used unnecessary force while booking him in jail.
Police in a Dallas suburb say a drunk driver crashed into an empty squad car while officers were busy dealing with another drunk driver they had pulled over.
Grand Prairie police say a third driver then crashed into another empty squad car, but this driver wasn’t under the influence.
The Dallas Morning News reports that officers pulled over the first driver at around 3am on Sunday and ended up arresting that person for driving while intoxicated.
Department spokesman Lyle Gensler says the driver of the first vehicle to hit a squad car was also arrested on a DWI charge, but the third driver was only ticketed.
The only person hurt was the second driver, who suffered minor injuries.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
