Police log for Flagstaff AZ, July 14, 2012.: "A 49-year-old homeless man was arrested for panhandling on Thursday and booked into the Coconino County Detention Facility.
An officer in plainclothes was walking in the area of Humphreys Street and Butler Avenue when he was approached by a homeless man. The two spoke for several minutes before the man asked the officer if he could spare some change, a police report said. The officer asked the man how much and he replied "two bucks for food." The officer then pulled out his badge, surprising the man, the report said. The officer handcuffed the man and booked him into jail for panhandling." Btw, that officer is a dick.
Honestly, I had no idea it was a crime to ask people for a few bucks. I mean, every holiday season I am asked for money by persons ringing little brass bells standing next to red buckets. And every Veteran's Day and Memorial Day, I can't enter a store without being accosted by someone asking for a donation. And at least once a week, I am asked to donate a dollar to breast cancer or prostate cancer research, each time I make a purchase at the grocery store. The begging never ends. And this is fine. Giving to charity is a good thing, right? Oh yeah, as long as the charity is a corporation. If the charity is an individual homeless person, forget about it. His asking is a crime. I wonder if my giving would be as well. Hogwash! I smell hypocrisy!
An officer in plainclothes was walking in the area of Humphreys Street and Butler Avenue when he was approached by a homeless man. The two spoke for several minutes before the man asked the officer if he could spare some change, a police report said. The officer asked the man how much and he replied "two bucks for food." The officer then pulled out his badge, surprising the man, the report said. The officer handcuffed the man and booked him into jail for panhandling." Btw, that officer is a dick.
Honestly, I had no idea it was a crime to ask people for a few bucks. I mean, every holiday season I am asked for money by persons ringing little brass bells standing next to red buckets. And every Veteran's Day and Memorial Day, I can't enter a store without being accosted by someone asking for a donation. And at least once a week, I am asked to donate a dollar to breast cancer or prostate cancer research, each time I make a purchase at the grocery store. The begging never ends. And this is fine. Giving to charity is a good thing, right? Oh yeah, as long as the charity is a corporation. If the charity is an individual homeless person, forget about it. His asking is a crime. I wonder if my giving would be as well. Hogwash! I smell hypocrisy!
