City’s hands are tied over panhandlers

City’s hands are tied over panhandlers

‘ If I’ve had one, I’ve had one hundred calls on it,’ says Police Chief

news@theeveningtimes.com

By now everybody has seen them and some have offered reactions to the panhandlers popping up like spring flowers along the main thoroughfares in West Memphis. The long standing scene of an occasional hitch hiker with a cardboard sign asking for help has been on again and off again in this Interstate crossroads city. But the phones have been ringing at city hall about the new wave of charity panhandlers seen in recent days at Missouri Street and the Service Road.

City Attorney David Peeples, the city clerk and Police Chief Donald Oakes have had their phones light up with inquiries about the beggars.

“If I’ve had one, I’ve had one hundred calls on it,” said Oakes.

“I understand its an issue of concern to the citizens of the city of West Memphis,” said Peeples. “One of the tools we had in dealing with this was the anti-begging portion of the state loitering statute and now that has been taken from us.”

Decisions have consequences.

“It coincides with number of people you’ve seen out there recently because I think they know we cannot do anything to stop them from begging,” said Peeples. “The federal courts says it is constitutionally protected free speech.”

Sure enough organized panhandlers popped up this spring after a November 2016 court decision. While state statute had insulated the area from panhandlers in the past that all changed with an injunction handed down from the federal court in the east district of Arkansas stemming from a suit against the state police over the anti-begging section of the loitering statute . “The federal court issued and injunction against the state police from enforcing portion of the anti loitering statute,” said Peeples.

“They ruled it unconstitutional. That is what has happened to handle the people out on the street corners begging for money because we had that statute. It has been taken away from us. Begging is constitutionally protected free speech.”

Harassing people verbally or blocking traffic are still against the law and the police department will enforce those laws according to Police Chief Donald Oakes.

“Begging is now a constitutionally protected act and we can’t stop people form asking for money or donations,” said Oakes. “With that being said if their conduct is creating a disturbance, is verbally harassing verbally intimidating people or become a traffic hazard by impeding traffic, standing alone and apart from the begging, those are still violations. But we can’t use the act of begging as part of that.”

“We cannot do anything about them begging for money,” said Peeples. “But if they are doing something like that then we may be able to prohibit harassment or impeding traffic but we cant use that as a substitute for trying to find something to prosecute them with for begging.”

It may be different if some one is selling something.

Standards for solicitation remain the same. Panhandling on private property like a store is up to the owner. Management at the Holiday Plaza confirmed they’ve told inner city missionaries working the public roadway in front of Walgreens to not park or panhandle on the shopping center private property.

By John Rech