Arnold Abbott, 90, and two clergymen were led away from the crowd and issued citations which could result in a $500 fine and up to two months in jail.
Posted on 11/04/2014 11:49:37 AM PST by SeekAndFind
A senior citizen and a couple of clergymen in Florida face up to two months in jail for feeding the homeless.
A group of volunteers with the non-profit charity Love Thy Neighbor in Broward County face up to a $500 fine and 60 days in jail because they were feeding the homeless last Sunday in Fort Lauderdale, the New Times reports.
World War II veteran Arnold Abbott, founder of the interfaith organization, and members of a local church were confronted by Fort Lauderdale police officers because they had reportedly been in violation of the new laws against food sharing — laws that were ironically enacted on Halloween, a night reserved for, well, sharing candy.
Trays of hot food intended to be distributed to the lines of homeless people on the street last weekend were instead thrown directly into the trash by the officers, who ordered Abbott to “drop that plate right now.” In total, four police cruisers and a half dozen uniformed cops arrived to the scene.
Abbott and two clergymen were subsequently issued citations and are due to appear in court in the coming weeks.
The new law comes on the heels of an announcement from the city in January that restrict camping, panhandling, food sharing and other “life sustaining” activities.
Not to be deterred, Abbott, who has been feeding the homeless for years, talked in the report about how his recent run-in with the law will change things.
(Excerpt) Read more at nydailynews.com ...
There is only one response: No, officer, I will not comply. You may not interrupt our religious service; come back during office hours.
CRIMINIAL. And I DON'T mean Abbott.
There’s a law against food sharing?
I wonder how many of those he’s risking freedom to feed could work but don’t because they let him do the work.
Dang.
I don’t give to homeless or beggars, but I will share my food with whomever I darn well please. This is stupid.
And the cops were just doing there jobs... enforcing the law... no matter how stupid the law is.
People actually get paid to write these laws.
On the one hand, he’s helping people and all that. On the other hand, he’s encouraging vagrants to swarm into Ft. Lauderdale, which may cause an uptick in crime and unsocial behavior.
Thats why I don’t give to them. My taxes pay for things if they really need them.
But I’m a grown man, I will give to whomever I please.
Only the feral government is allowed to make people dependent.
Yes because they do stuff like this in parks which draws the homeless and makes the parks useless for other people.
This is ridiculous!
I can’t believe police would waste their time, resources and taxpayer money on people feeding the homeless.
Way to win over the community NYPD.
Wait until this goes viral.
I’m sure the NYPD will make lot of new friends.....(sarcasm off)
Well the homeless do get feisty if all they get is muffin stumps.
Seriously, once upon a time churches administered most of the charity in this country. Then the government took over and we let them. Now look at what happens.
What happens when you share food outside the shelters, is that you draw the homeless to where ever you are distributing.
People soon come from outside the area for the free food.
I can see why a municipality would want to discourage handing food out on the street or in the parks.
Personally, I don’t hand out anything to street people. If they approach me I tell them where the nearest shelter is.
They can go there for food, and believe me, they know all the tricks, so it isn’t a surprise to them.
Give to whomever you want. Put bait out to lure drunks and addicts who urinate and defecate in front of my business and you’ll hear from me. Not in a nice giving way either.
Blank them and their silly assed laws.
The dems don’t like people of faith interfering with a potential voter base.
And the cops were just doing there jobs... enforcing the law... no matter how stupid the law is.
I would like to believe that the cops should be able to question laws such as this one. Stupid laws are stupid and if cops go through with any old law that ends up being unconstitutional they should be prosecuted.
“Just following orders” is not a good defense.
I think this is broward county florida.
I can’t believe police would waste their time, resources and taxpayer money on people feeding the homeless.
...
This happened in Fort Lauderdale. They just passed an ordinance that says the homeless can’t be fed outside (I assume in a public space). People can still feed the homeless all they want provided it’s in the right place.
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