Lesbian couple wins $80,000 settlement after being arrested for kissing in public

The agreement removes the officer from the lawsuit and is not an admission of wrongdoing.

Courtney Wilson, left, and Taylor Guerrero in Honolulu. (AP)

A lesbian couple who claimed a policeman wrongfully arrested them for them kissing have been awarded $80,000 (£55,100) in damages.

The settlement was announced in a local court, and will be considered at a city council meeting on 6 July, Honolulu Deputy Corporation Counsel Nicolette Winter told the Associated Press.

Courtney Wilson, 25, and Taylor Guerrero, 21, were on holiday in Honolulu, Hawaii from Los Angeles when they said Officer Bobby Harrison harassed and arrested them for public displays of affection in a Foodland store on Oahu.

While walking inside the grocery store last March, the couple held hands and at one point kissed, and, according to the lawsuit, Officer Harrison loudly ordered them to stop and “take it somewhere else.” After complying, Harrison again witnessed them being affectionate and said he would have them kicked out of the store.

The couple alleged that Officer Harrison grabbed Wilson by the wrist, and as they attempted to dial 911, a struggle ensued between the three parties. The women were charged with a felony assault of a police officer and ended up spending three days in jail, the AP reports, and all charges were eventually dismissed.

By the end of last year, Officer Harrison retired from the Honolulu Police Department.

Donna Leong, of the city’s corporation counsel, said that the tentative settlement is in “the best interests of the city.”

Wilson and Guerrero are no longer seeing each other but remain friends and plan on splitting the settlement amount. "I'm glad it's over,” Wilson told the news agency, “but at the same time we wanted the officer to suffer some sort of repercussion.”