Mitt Romney Arrested In 1981: What Did He Do?

Mitt Romney's dog on the roof story seems to pale compared to a 1981 arrest now coming to light. BuzzFeed's Andrew Kaczynski managed to dig up a very little reported story about the Republican presidential contender's run-in with the law.

Mitt Romney, it seems, was arrested for disorderly conduct in Wayland, Mass. What did he do? He put his boat in the water.

Romney launched his boat in Wayland's Lake Cochituate after a police officer told him not to. According to his version of the story, which he told the Boston Globe during his failed Senate run in 1994, the officer told him he would be fined $50 for putting his boat in the water because its license plate looked painted over. Romney disagreed and decided to put the boat in the water and pay the fine.

I figured I was at the state park with my kids, he said in 1994. My five kids were in the car wondering why we weren't going out in the boat, so I said I'd launch and pay the fine.

Romney asserted that the officer never told him not to launch, just to pay the $50 fine. I would not have done it, Romney said of failing to understand the cop.

According to Buzzfeed, when the boat was in the lake the officer reappeared, visibly angry, and arrested Romney for disorderly conduct. Romney was handcuffed at the lake and booked at the police station, where he was later released without bail.

The case was dropped when Romney appeared at the courthouse a few days later claiming false arrest and threatening to sue the officer.

He did not have the right to arrest me because I was not a disorderly person, Romney said in 1994. This was an obvious case of false arrest. The officer obviously agreed because he agreed to dropping the case.'

According to The Week, the 1981 incident wasn't the only time he lost his cool.

At the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, where Romney was the chief organizer, he reportedly got in a tiff with an 18-year-old-security volunteer. The volunteer, Shaun Knopp, asserts that Romney asked 'who the f***' he was and 'what the f***' an amateur like him was doing at the Olympics. But Romney says he only said H-E-doubly hockey sticks.

The Week also cites one of Romney's hot-headed moments at a GOP debate in October. Romney had become angry and placed his hand on Rick Perry's shoulder when he was interrupted by him.

Probably the most hilarious of the Mitt Romney angry eyes encounters was his 2010 dispute with LMFAO's Sky Blu. Sky Blu reportedly had his seat leaned back before a flight took off, in which he claims Romney started yelling Sir, sir put your seat up! Sky Blu then claims that Romney put a condor grip on me. ... It was pretty hostile. The altercation resulted in Sky Blu being escorted off a plane that was headed from Vancouver to Los Angeles.

Romney says he just politely tapped the entertainer on the shoulder.