BRISTOL — When a blue minivan with Florida license plates pulled into the Bristol Maplefields on West Street at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 7, onlookers could barely believe their eyes: A male driver got out of the car completely unclothed.
“The only things he was wearing was a pair of sandals and a credit card,” Bristol Police Chief Kevin Gibbs reported.
On seeing the nude man, a bystander immediately called the police. But contrary to what the caller and some fellow bystanders apparently expected, the police did not arrest the man. 
“As long as he’s not doing anything that’s considered lewd  … he can do just about whatever he wants,” said Gibbs.
There is no state law prohibiting public nudity, but there are towns that have local ordinances. Bristol, however, is not one of them.
The out-of-towner was informed that he might encounter problems down the road, but that his naked ways were safe in Bristol.
Another call then came in for the police, reporting that the man had driven off without paying for gas.
A police officer pulled him over, and the man — now wearing only a Hawaiian shirt — presented his receipt, indicating that he’d paid with a credit card. The officer let him go on his way.
Reporter Andrew Stein is at [email protected].