The man who once penned the song "Hurricane," now might inspire someone to write their own tune about his unjust imprisonment after a run-in with Jersey law enforcement. Folk/rock legend Bob Dylan was taken in by a NJ patrolwoman in Long Branch a few weeks ago when locals became suspicious when they spotted the 68-year-old wandering around in their neighborhood.
The incident took place on July 23rd, but word of it broke on the anniversary of Dylan's historic performance at Woodstock*. While in Jersey a few weeks back, Dylan had strayed quite a bit from the hotel he was staying at while on tour with Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp, in town to play at a minor league ballpark in nearby Lakewood. The singer was looking at a "For Sale" sign on a front lawn while hanging out in the pouring rain when a neighbor called police to alert them to "a weirdo hanging around her house."
Onto the scene came 24-year-old Patrolwoman Kristie Buble, who simply did not believe Dylan when he told her who he was. The officer told ABC News:
He was wearing black sweatpants tucked into black rain boots, and two raincoats with the hood pulled down over his head. We see a lot of people on our beat, and I wasn't sure if he came from one of our hospitals or something. He was acting very suspicious. Not delusional, but suspicious. He asked me if I could drive him back to the neighborhood once I verified who he was...I've seen pictures of Bob Dylan from a long time ago and he didn't look like Bob Dylan to me at all. It never crossed my mind that this could really be him...I said to him, 'OK Bob, why don't you get in the car and we'll drive to the hotel to verify this?' I pulled into the parking lot and sure enough, there were these enormous tour buses, and I thought, 'Whoa.'
At some point during the incident, an older sergeant joined in the proceedings and also failed to recognize Dylan. As for the young Buble, a fellow officer described her "like a 16-year-old kid next to this living legend." And one Long Branch local added, "I don't think she was familiar with his entire body of work." Buble noted that the star was "really nice" and understood why she had to keep him throughout the mix-up, perhaps hoping this was his shot at a free White House beer. When asked if she had a chance to ask for an autograph once she realized her gaffe, she says that Dylan's manager quickly cut off contact between the two, as she bid farewell by saying, "Um, have a nice day."
*15th anniversary, of course...from Woodstock '94
