July 18, 2017
Screenshot from video/Wil Sylvince/Facebook
Wil Sylvince, a New York-based comic, posted a video to Facebook in June of Colleen Campbell yelling obscenities at a Philadelphia police officer outside of Helium Comedy Club in Center City. It was viewed more than 12 million times before Sylvince removed it from Facebook.
Colleen Campbell, the 28-year-old South Jersey resident charged with misdemeanor crimes for shouting profanities at a Philadelphia police officer during what became a viral tirade, made her first court appearance Tuesday and was accepted into a program that could resolve her case quickly.
During the brief hearing, Municipal Court Judge Henry Lewandowski III gave Campbell the option of entering an Accelerated Misdemeanor Program Tier 2 or proceeding to trial. Campbell chose the AMP2, an option for defendants charged with non-violent offenses. As a result, Campbell must pay a fine and either complete community service or enter a treatment program.
If she does not comply the conditions of the program or is arrested again before its completion, Campbell could face probation or jail.
"I need to know how each of you wish to proceed," Lewandowski said during the court proceeding to Campbell and three other defendants in separate cases also seeking to enter AMP2.
"I'm going to do the program," Campbell replied.
Lewandowski ordered Campbell to pay a $216.50 fine. The court will check on Campbell's status meeting the programs conditions during a "progress listing" set for Aug. 22.
Campbell was charged with resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and criminal mischief after an incident outside Helium Comedy Club in Center City on June 6.
After being kicked out of the club for her behavior inside, Campbell's antics appeared to get worse outside where she was caught on video. Campbell was recorded telling a Philadelphia police officer to "lick her a**hole" and "no wonder everybody wants to blow your f**cking heads off."
Wil Sylvince, a New York-based comic, filmed the event and uploaded it onto Facebook where it was viewed more than 12 million times in matter of days.
Campbell, had worked as a freelance news producer at PHL17 but she lost that job in the aftermath, as well as her bartending gig in South Philly. Sylvince said in a June interview with PhillyVoice that he kept "putting [himself] in her shoes," leading him to delete the five-minute long clip.
In a statement following the incident, Campbell said that she was "ashamed and embarrassed" of the video and was also the subject of thousands of threatening messages, ranging from "defamatory insults to deeply disturbing sexual and violent threats." She declined to comment following Tuesday's court proceedings.
