Miami has asked a federal judge to terminate a 20-year-old legal agreement that protects the city’s homeless from undue police harassment — a change that would allow the police to arrest the homeless for loitering.
The city on Wednesday filed a motion in U.S. District Court to terminate the Pottinger agreement, a 1998 consent decree that prevents police from arresting homeless people for “life-sustaining” activities such as sleeping on the sidewalk, starting a cooking fire or urinating in public. The agreement stems from a landmark lawsuit brought against the city in the early 1990s by 5,000 homeless people and the American Civil Liberties Union to stop the police practice of arresting the homeless for loitering, saying it was unconstitutional.
“‘By remaining on the streets, there is a greater likelihood that chronically homeless individuals (particularly those who suffer from serious mental illness, substance abuse, or both) may engage in aggressive panhandling, theft or violent crimes,’ Miami attorneys wrote.”
By their own admission, homelessness can provoke a person into serious crimes, yet those same attorneys insist on keeping registrants homeless. By their own court submissions, they are endangering the public by preventing registrants from finding a home to live in.
Wow! How much hate do Floridians have? That state is better under water, of course after we get all the homeless out of there! I hope the judge will favor humanity over hatred…
Why does this sound and smell like Ron Book’s doing? Someone needs to ask that question.
Giving the police the power now to harass and arrest people for the crime of being homeless. Ridiculous.
It would be very wise that all RCs living in FloriDAH move from the coastal regions to some place where they can bunker down, because I degree a series of massive hurricanes, tidal waves and tornadoes to hit the state and wash most of the population out into the sea.
This is the same as arresting people for vagrancy which I believe is or was supposed to be settled law that it is unconstitutional…
I have a misdemeanor conviction of Annoying or molesting a child under the age of 18, but Missouri took it upon themselves to call it Child Molestation although there was no physical contact, no exposure. She was 17.