The Star reports: The Kansas City Police Department won't enforce the city's (The Plaza's) three-month-old panhandling law, because it's unconstitutional.
Actually, I'm not really disappointed with this one . . . Calling people (even homeless bastards) "visual blight" probably didn't help the cause of Plaza merchants who pushed this ordinance. HOWEVER, the fact that even luxury retail outlets have to share the street with poor people, annoying street performers and assorted varieties of scumbag is sure to depress a lot of rich people trying to make a buck off of other rich people or folks that don't understand how credit card interest rates work.
Anyway, this bit of news IS IMPORTANT given that - IF Kansas City can't get rid of "undesirables" like the panhandlers (and minorities - whew!! Close one there) THEN that means that places like the upcoming (delayed) Electric Avenue and other downtown developments will have to endure folks who might be frightening to suburban shoppers and upscale condo dwellers.
Sure, terrified luxury shoppers might qualify as free entertainment but I doubt anybody can argue that it's good for business.
KC cops aren't big on doing actual scut-work that benefits the average citizen. no glory in hassling (enforcing the law) the homeless blocking the sidewalk on the plaza.
ReplyDeleteSince when does the Police Force get to decide whether or not a law is constitutional and whether or not they will enforce it?
ReplyDeletePretty sure they are over stepping their authority.
It's ironic that the police won't enforce this yet gleefully set up checkpoints and eagerly arrest people at them for reasons they would otherwise not have had probable cause to stop them for.
ReplyDeleteOh, and the last time I saw Jerry on the street (just a few days ago) it didn't appear that he was having any trouble what soever finding all of the cheeseburgers he could eat. With fries. And milkshakes. And maybe a slice of pie.
ReplyDeleteHe needs to start asking for a downpayment on a Jenny Craig membershipp.
lol XO. Best line I've heard in a while.
ReplyDeleteI gave Cheesburger Jerry a cup of joe one cold, sleeting, December morning and he promptly threw it in the trash in front of McD's. Guess he doesn't like hot liquids, only cheese and fries.
ReplyDeleteI gave Cheesburger Jerry a cup of joe one cold, sleeting, December morning and he promptly threw it in the trash in front of McD's. Guess he doesn't like hot liquids, only cheese and fries.
ReplyDeleteOf course you don't care about laws being enforced Tony. It's no wonder all of these cops keep getting shot up and the eastside is just falling apart, we have a bunch of morons who won't enforce laws. Kansas City once was again comes through to let it's citizens down
ReplyDeleteYOU PEOPLE ARE FUCKING IDIOTS.
ReplyDeleteTHis issue has already been settled in court. Cheeseburger Jerry sued some Plaza merchants and won his right to panhandle YEARS AGO.
You people obviously don't know anything about Kansas City.
What you want the KCPD to do is act like a bunch of security guards for corporate interests.
Sorry. There are more important issues that I'd like them to deal with. The panhandlers are not violent so they aren't the problem of the Kansas City Police.
This isn't Johnson County and you aren't entitled to shop in peace.
Get your priorities straight people and stop being such whiny pussies for law and order when you don't know the law in the first place.
I want the police to enforce the laws on the books. Any law they can find on panhandling, loitering, vagrancy and even jaywalking. Whatever it takes to get the useless scum off the streets and out of the way of the folks who have legitimate business downtown.
ReplyDeleteEveryday I see these bums wanding across the middle of the street, against the light, taking their own sweet time, completely oblivious to everything around them and expecting traffic to just grind to a halt while they take their casual little goon-stroll.
I see the access points to major businesses choked closed by homeless bums, ex-cons covered in gang tatoos and just generally crazy crack heads sitting on the steps rolling and smoking their jail-issue Bugle cigarettes.
Get these people off the damn streets. Don't really give a damn where they go or what happens to them. They obviously don't care, why should I?
I don't want to get into it with you Mr. Onassis because you're a great blogger and I see where you're coming from. But the laws are ALREADY ON THE BOOKS. That's why the police aren't going to enforce some new ordinance that won't stand up to a bit of legal scrutiny. Panhandlers across the nation have won one case after the next against cities and police forces that attempt to take away their right to assemble, freedom of speech and basic human rights.
ReplyDeleteKansas City shouldn't try to reinvent the wheel and should dedicate our resources to violent crime and not making Plaza merchants richer.
Instead a more productive route would be to encourage every one not to give to panhandlers directly and get involved or donate to their local homeless shelters.
Gotta go with Xavier on this one. KCA you obviously haven't been in smelling distance of some of these people.
ReplyDeleteThe police should enforce the law and get these people off the street.
By the way Anarchist. If you knew anything about KC you would know that Cheeseburger Jerry makes as much as 30 grand a year from begging. He is not homeless.
It is time to get him off the street just like any other scam artist.
Why can't we all just get along?
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to side with KCA on this one. If you check your history, you will find that KC had this law 10 years ago, and CJ sued and won a big chunk of money. The minute the city council announced this "new" ordinance, CJ went out and retained a lawyer.
ReplyDeleteArticle says the department had their own legal team look at the ordinance before they decided not to enforce it. Any lawyer I have ever spoken to on this matter have all said the same thing, "a lawsuit begging to happen".
Do I have a love for panhandlers? No. Do I wish they would go away? Yes (because they are more then annoying when a simple "no" won't suffice). Does CJ need a downpayment for Jenny Craig? Absolutely.
This ordinance was cooked up by corporate interests. It's the Plaza for Godssakes! Of course they don't want panhandlers there...it breaks the illusion of snobbery and upper class that The Plaza has been striving for. Kind of hard to feel good about spending a shit-ton of money when some homeless dude is sitting on the sidewalk when you walk out.
This ordinance is severly flawed, and I don't care about the idea of my tax dollars going to settle lawsuits. They need to pull this ordinance, put it back on the drawing board and make it iron-clad before introducing it again.
As for the KCPD, there are much more important things they need to attend to, rather than enforce this stupid ordinance.
Everyone seems to think they know best what KCPD ought to be doing. "There are more important things to attend to"
ReplyDeleteSince when you do decide what is important? Here's some advice:
IF A LAW ISN'T ENFORCED, IT'S NOT WORTH HAVING. KCPD JOB IS TO ENFORCE ALL LAWS. NOT CONVENIENT ONES OR WHAT SOME TWAT COMMENTER ON A BLOG DECIDES IS 'IMPORTANT'.
If we have laws against gandy douchebags like this Cheeseburger Fuck, then enforce them.
I suppose if there was a law passed that said police could shoot pussies who only posted under anonymous names, you would support that, too.
ReplyDelete^ HA!
ReplyDeleteSSSSLLLLAAAAPPPP!!!
ReplyDeleteheh heh!
Yeah, I'm pretty sure I too would prefer to have my friendly neighborhood donut chomper hassling bums on the Plaza instead of stopping traffic so the fire department can get through to my car with the jaws of life when the Fairfax bridge comes crashing down. Good call.
ReplyDeleteAnything that restricts verbal communication in a public place is going to be subject to high scrutiny and unlikely to pass constitutional muster.
ReplyDeleteThe city attorney needs to take the next step and provide what he feels is a constitutional ordinance to the council. IMO that would be the current one minus the verbal panhandling part.
I think the issue of whether you can write legislation that gives certain parts of the city tougher panhandling laws may be one that the courts need to decide.
What need can the city show in treating a troost shopowner different than a plaza shopowner? What need can they show in treating a panhandler different that begs on the plaza from the one that begs on Main?
...er, linked you...sorta.
ReplyDeleteHeather I love you. Will you marry me.
ReplyDeleteHeather I love you. Will you marry me.
ReplyDeleteSigned: Joe
Sorry, forgot to sign the first one. Wouldn't want you to shoot me.
Hey Lewis. If the city council passed a law prohibiting black people from being on the Plaza, I suppose you would want the cops to enforce that one too...Get the cop hating chip off your shoulder and get a real job.
ReplyDeleteThe consensus in the legal community is that the ordinance is unconstitutional. The city attorney knows this but did not have the guts to advise the City Council of this fact. This is the same idiot who nearly shut down KCMO Municipal Court for a year by banning the reduction of speeding tickets. It's a little known fact that the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners and the State of Missouri, not the City, would be responsible for paying attorney fees and judgments that would arise from any unlawful arrests that result from enforcing this ordinance.
ReplyDeleteI applaud the police chief, the Board of Police Commissioners and their legal staff for upholding the Constitution.
Heather? That's so fucking telling. Christ, that's basically your whole resume, name and address. Pussy? Stupid fuck. It's the internet. You could be a lying retard. Maybe you are. I'll continue to post anonymously. Fuck off.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteTo Anon 08:50
ReplyDeleteConsidering your witty retort had the bite of a 95 year old granny (sans teeth), and made absolutely no sense whatsoever, I'm going to let it slide because I can see you are smarting from the fact that you just got owned by someone with a vagina.
Work smarter, not harder.
some people have been harassed for posting on this website so I think it is disrespectful to bully others on the boards that choose to post anon.
ReplyDeleteI got threatening phone calls 2 months ago and stopped posting here under a login.
Heather you aren't the princess of the boards. If Tony hates anonymous posters on the boards then he can just disable it with a simple click.
ReplyDeleteTo be clear...I'm not being on people for simply posting anon. I'm calling out people who verbally attack other posters, not having the balls to post their own name, or at least a blogger identity.
ReplyDeleteSo what you are saying is that you ARE the princess of the boards.
ReplyDeleteLet Tony disable anon or actually add something constructive for once.
This was at least a dormant issue until last couple of weeks when KC MO police began running off and arresting street performers. New owners who bought Plaza from highwoods are trying to privatize the plaza.
ReplyDelete