Ocean City beach patrol stops scolding women who sunbathe topless
OCEAN CITY, Md. - Women who sunbathe topless in Ocean City, Maryland used to get a scolding from beach patrol officers, but that has changed.
According to a memo from Capt. Butch Arbin, the head of Ocean City Beach Patrol, workers should document complaints of toplessness, but they shouldn't approach topless women -- even if beachgoers request it.
An advocate for normalizing toplessness, Chelsea Covington, asked Worcester County's state's attorney last year to examine the law. The Worcester County's state's attorney, in turn, asked Maryland's attorney general for an opinion. Officials have not yet heard back.
In the past, Arbin says the beach patrol would just tell topless women that they could not do it. But without an opinion from the attorney general, Arbin says they don't feel like they can tell women not to sunbathe topless.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.