TAMPA -- Charles William Hughes sputtered at a city police officer who grabbed his cell phone and ended his call late Tuesday.
"I'm just talking to a girl," Hughes said to the officer, a report states.
Problem is the "girl" was a 911 dispatcher Hughes had called more than 30 times in 10 minutes, a report states.
Tampa police charged Hughes with misdemeanor misuse of the 911 system after the communications center accused him of harassing the female operators. He also is charged with obstructing an officer without violence.
Hughes, 45, of no known address, was held at the Orient Road Jail today on $1,250 bail.
A police report does not include what he said to the women. Copies of the calls were not available today.
Officers Ronald Neipert and Scott Van Treese were dispatched to the corner of North 49th Street and 10th Avenue about 11 p.m. Tuesday because of the flurry of calls, police said.
There, they saw Hughes lounging on the corner with a beer in one hand and a cell phone to his ear, police said.
Because Hughes had told dispatchers his name was Charles or Chuck, Neipert called out, "Chuck" to get the man's attention. Hughes responded that he was on the phone with a dispatcher and asked Neipert if he wanted to speak with her, police said.
The officer took the phone from Hughes, saw it was connected to 911, hung up and told Hughes he was under arrest.
"Why the … are you arresting me? I'm just talking to a girl on 911," Hughes said, according to police.
Until he reached the jail, Hughes continued to curse and scream at the officers, threatening to kick out the rear window of Neipert's patrol car and shoot the officer with a .44 Magnum, a report states.
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