Police Arrest A Homeless Man For Charging His Mobile Phone At A Public Park

A homeless man in Florida was arrested and actually charged with "Utilities Theft" for charging his phone at a public park.

What the hell? This guy had to spend a night in jail for charging his cell phone. The cop told him that the “theft of city utilities will not be tolerated during this bad economy".

Luckily the judge threw the case out saying the police officer basically made the law up and that he lacked any legal justification to make the arrest.

I posted a thread earlier about a cop shutting down a little girls lemonade stand and now their putting people in jail for charging their phones.

You cant make this stuff up.

csglobe.com...

Some say this story is ridiculous. Others say is a joke and cannot be happening in America today. But whatever your mind tells you about the story, we can only vouch that it is a true story and has happened in America today.

In January this year in the city of Sarasota-Florida, a homeless man was arrested by the police because he was charging his mobile phone at a public picnic shelter called the Gillespie Park in the city centre.

a reply to: alienjuggalo

Look on the bright side. He is entitled to one phone call now .

a reply to: alienjuggalo

How much did it really cost to charge that cellphone??? Less than a dime probably. Can't they leave these poor people alone???
Thank goodness the judge had some sense. On the upside, I guess this guy at least had a roof, a bed, and a free meal for the night.

a reply to: alienjuggalo

Good grief; what does the idiot cop think an outlet int he park is for, if not for citizens to use it?? Nice to see the judge had some sense. Shame there aren't more like him.

Infuriating!

What a piece of crap human being, playing dress up in a cop uniform.

Sheesh.

Imagine if this homeless man was in a McDonalds bathroom.

"Theft of Corporate Utilities" - 1 - 5 year(s) Prison Sentence.


I hope I just didn't give the evil govt's and corporations any ideas.


Wouldn't surprise me if I did. Evil bastards.

a reply to: alienjuggalo

Lets be honest, those girls were operating an illegal business. They deserved to have their lemonade stand raided and shut down. As for the homeless man, I think its a joke.

This is sort of old news - 2011 or so. Apparently it got tossed, the guy filed suit for $15K. I wasn't able to find if it went to trial or not.

originally posted by: PrinceJohnson
a reply to: alienjuggalo

Lets be honest, those girls were operating an illegal business. They deserved to have their lemonade stand raided and shut down. As for the homeless man, I think its a joke.

I was wondering where the people with that sentiment were. I remember last time something like this happened, my jaw was left dropped reading how some people think...

illegal business.. lmao.

shut down little kids illicit lemonade gig, arrest homeless people.. this world is already a dystopia...

I made an observation the other day. ...in two towns almost alike in every way except for one thing .....one area has money one doesn't have as much . There is a school zone in both,one had a radar gun in it and a display of how fast you are going. The other has a radar gun and cameras that send drivers and ticket that is double the fine of a regular ticket. ...money neighborhood gets a free speedometer check and the poor neighborhood gets a double speeding ticket. ....can anyone tell me other than its there to generate revenue for the county , not for safety or any other BS reason. ...why not give the tickets to the area that can afford it?

originally posted by: PrinceJohnson
a reply to: alienjuggalo

Lets be honest, those girls were operating an illegal business. They deserved to have their lemonade stand raided and shut down. As for the homeless man, I think its a joke.

Okay I'll throw out a wild guess here in the form of a 'troll alert': how nice of you to be so incredibly educated in the law to keep harping on a subject even though it is in another subject thread. I have a feeling it is going to be lots of fun having you here to take care of my inability to laugh at anything in the US these days.

Have fun until you change your name and try to reinvent yourself….

originally posted by: Greathouse
a reply to: alienjuggalo

Look on the bright side. He is entitled to one phone call now .

Haha that's actually not true. There is no such law. It's a TV myth. It depends on where you are arrested and on what charge. You may be entitled to exactly zero.

a reply to: OccamsRazor04

Star!!!!

I was being facetious but I thought it was a appropriate reply .

You know you are one of the few members around here that I believe is totally honest. Please go to the thread about the little girl doing Aretha Franklin's respect.


Watch the whole video and give me your opinion ?

a reply to: Greathouse

I am at work and usually it's impossible to hear anything on these computers. I will save it to view at home.

Can you link it?

We are so far removed from what poor really is. We have no clue--even our homeless people have cell phones.

This country is in for one hell of a shock when "poor" actually pays a visit to our shores...

...which would be why the police are preparing to go to war against us. The temper tantrum that is about to be thrown will be, dare I say, biblical.

A jerk on a regular day, or a good cop on a bad day....either one is capable of making your day a nightmare. That is the only reason I avoid cops. Not out of any kind of hate or dislike. Simply because they can apparently just make crap up and completely destroy your reputation (i.e., wrongfully arresting you in front of your kids....seen that one happen a couple of times).

A nation with 5% of the planets population that houses 25% of the planets prisoners is not really the land of the free. And its pretty easy to understand peoples apprehension.

a reply to: alienjuggalo

The United States has gone off the rails, they are insane.

If they are not insane then this action by the police is a deliberate provocation at the community and masses at large. You're govt is sneering at you people, they are saying stick this up your a...e, this is what we do to you and just lie their and take it.

Wow, as soon as I saw the title I immediately thought of Florida state before I even saw that it was Florida.

Florida has the most idiots per capita (in positions of authority), of any other state, and all of the most lunatic stories about cops and government retardation seem to be happening in Florida.

That cop should be whipped with a bull whip for being an embarrassment to the entire frigging country.

originally posted by: NthOther
We are so far removed from what poor really is. We have no clue--even our homeless people have cell phones.

This country is in for one hell of a shock when "poor" actually pays a visit to our shores...

...which would be why the police are preparing to go to war against us. The temper tantrum that is about to be thrown will be, dare I say, biblical.

Why the poor have mobiles.
In the uk (I assume its the same over there) you cannot get unemployment benefit unless you have a phone. If you havent got one they will supply one! This is because they say "Without a phone you are intentionaly making yourself unemployed"
So, even the very poorest in the land will be GIVEN a phone.

originally posted by: tinker9917
a reply to: alienjuggalo

On the upside, I guess this guy at least had a roof, a bed, and a free meal for the night.

On a side note which doesn't have much to do with the topic, sorry. Wasn't it in California that they wanted to charge 140 something dollars per night in prison ? Did that happen ? (I don't live in the US)

Am I the only one that sees the irony of a homeless person having a cell phone?

Yes, I know, some homeless can afford things like phones and cars yet choose not to have a home, but my point is that I often find myself shaking my head at the American mindset that says things like cell phones, cigarettes, drugs, and whatever else people don't need but waste their money on are more important than a roof over one's head.

Yes, that's a generalization--it's meant to be. But I'm tired of seeing people use their snap cards to buy food and then their own cash to stock up on beer and cigarettes. I try not to be judgmental, but people make that hard...

But on point, this cop is a jackass, plain and simple. I'd let 10 homeless people charge their phones if it meant that maybe they could get a call-back from a job interview and get themselves up off of the street. But the reality is that this is not generally the case.