Police bust lemonade stand in Pennsylvania

CHESTER, Pa., July 19 (UPI) -- The deputy police chief in Haverford Township, Pa., says a police officer's decision to shut down a lemonade stand run by children was a misunderstanding.

Deputy Chief John F. Viola said the officer shut down a lemonade stand run by seven children because the young entrepreneurs were allegedly peddling their refreshments to residents by visiting their homes, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Saturday.

Viola said the lemonade stand visit by the officer, whose identity was not released, was prompted by a call from a concerned neighbor.

"We all sold lemonade when we were kids," Viola said. "We all went, like, who calls (police) on kids?"

Viola said while peddling without a license is illegal in Haverford Township, those laws do not apply to children under the age of 16.

The deputy chief defended the responding officer over the July 10 mix-up, saying he was simply acting on available information.

"The police officer would have no way of knowing this on the street," Viola told the Inquirer.