Police Arrest Man With Pants In His Bag, But Not On His Body

Brookline police have arrested a man who was reportedly walking through the Longwood neighborhood wearing only a shirt, despite the fact that he had a pair of pants in his bag.

Roger Hale, a 58-year-old man who lives on Kent Square, was arrested shortly after noon today, July 9, and charged with indecent exposure and disorderly conduct. Hale is registered as a level-one sex offender.

According to a police report, officers found Hale standing on Longwood Avenue wearing only a long, button-down shirt and carrying a bag. Though the shirt was long enough to cover Hale's genitals, a pair of witnesses who had reportedly seen him early at the corner of Kent Street and Longwood Avenue told police a gust of wind had caught the shirt and exposed them.

"Our belief is the intent was he wanted to expose himself," said Sergeant Robert Disario. "But the mere fact that he caused the risk of exposure is a crime."

After speaking with Hale, officers located a pair of pants in his bag and had him put them on. Police would not say whether Hale offered an explanation as to why he had not been wearing them earlier.

There have been several cases of indecent public exposure in the Brookline area over the last year. Most recently, a 23-year-old Babson College student was arrested in Knyvet Park after he allegedly flashed his genitals at a passing bicyclist.