San Francisco, CA — Window tint, smoking a plant in your own home, not wearing your seatbelt, walking across the street, sagging your pants, and even building a sand castle — can and will get you extorted, kidnapped, caged, or even killed — in the land of the free. And now, eating pizza while waiting for the bus can be added to the list.
According to the San Francisco Gate, a man, who also happens to be homeless, was fined $250 for eating pizza while waiting for his bus to arrive. He was waiting at the corner of Market and Seventh street, holding the pizza he’d bought as a birthday treat for a female friend when the temptation to eat a slice was more than he could bear.
While indulging in his piece of the pie, he soon found himself the focus of a police investigation. The homeless man was then cited for eating pizza. Yes, you read that right. He’s was charged with eating pizza in public; more specifically, eating in the bus stop shelter. The law is real, yet according to Kelly Cutler with the Coalition on Homelessness, the violation is rarely enforced. The man needed help with paying the fine, so he sought out the help of a local homeless advocacy group.
“Some people get agitated or upset, but he was being a good sport…He laughed about it. He kept saying he bought the pizza for his friend on her birthday,” Cutler said. He was given a citation on March 5th and was due on court on April 5th, but Cutler said he does have legal recourse. If the man can show he’s seeking help for being homeless, the court will likely dismiss the charges which can carry a hefty fine of $250.
SFGate wrote, “Homeless outreach workers said Monday that they could not recall a similar instance of pizza prosecution, although another coalition worker did recall that a client of his had been cited some months ago for skateboarding on a Fulton Street sidewalk at 3 a.m., instead of in the street.” Cutler called the ticket a “waste of police services” and doesn’t seem to understand why now, all of a sudden, the police are enforcing laws long overlooked.
The Free Thought Project understands why police go after the homeless. In short, the answer is revenue generation. As TFTP has reported on numerous occasions, there’s a lot of revenue which can be generated when police departments target agencies which help the homeless, as well as the homeless themselves. Those who help the homeless can find themselves on the wrong side of the law. In one
In one such case, a few entrepreneurs sought to reclaim discarded food and provide it to the homeless. They were arrested. In another instance, a homeless woman was arrested and charged with charging her cell phone in public.
While some see the police fines, arrests, and penalties as a war on the homeless, instead of a war on homelessness, others simply see such police actions as revenue generation. At any rate, there’s something to say about an America which doesn’t allow people to eat pizza at a bus stop. So much for being the land of the free!
#1: misterwhite To: Deckard (#0)
I'd like to know if the city has a penal code for eating part of someone's birthday present.
misterwhite posted on 2017-04-08 19:29:31 Reply Private Reply
#2: Gatlin To: misterwhite (#1)
The San Francisco Examiner reported there is a crime problem in that bus stop shelter.
There was “a recent stabbing in that shelter” and the “SFPD had received multiple complaints of [homeless] people drinking and smoking at that bus stop” shelter.
It is an unsafe area for local citizens to go and catch a bus.
The ticket was issued to stop him from camping out there in that bus stop shelter….and cause him to move on.
But then, what the Hell, none of this matters since it was never included in the Free Thought Project story….right?
Gatlin posted on 2017-04-08 20:36:37 Reply Private Reply
#3: Deckard To: Gatlin (#2)
WTF? Was someone stabbed with a slice of pizza?
Deckard posted on 2017-04-09 00:08:57 Reply Private Reply
#4: Gatlin To: Deckard (#3)
Recent crime reports …
It is interesting that one can’t help but notice that the FTP doesn’t GAS about all the crime that happens at the bus stops in SF, but let one homeless man receive a citation from the SF police for camping out and eating pizza in order to have him move on and clean up the bus stop….then that’s MAJOR NEWS to the FTP.WTF? Why is that?
Gatlin posted on 2017-04-09 04:51:09 Reply Private Reply
#5: Deckard To: Gatlin (#4)
Yeah - homeless people (and presumably others) are cited for eating pizza in public.
It is interesting that one can’t help but notice that the FTP doesn’t GAS about all the crime that happens at the bus stops in SF, but let one homeless man receive a citation from the SF police for camping out and eating pizza in order to have him move on and clean up the bus stop….then that’s MAJOR NEWS to the FTP.
Hey - how about if the badged "heroes" go after the real criminals, and leave the pizza eaters alone? How's that for a concept?
I think this timely article points out the encroaching tyranny in Amerika when the State can arbitrarily make eating a slice of pizza a crime.
Deckard posted on 2017-04-09 05:22:08 Reply Private Reply
#6: Gatlin To: Deckard (#5)
News Flash: The bus stop shelter is not public housing for the homeless.
Hell, Bubba, I think you see everything that happens in America is some kind of encroaching tyranny….even the daily sunrise.But then, this is no surprise to anyone reading your posts….that’s just your pessimistic weird libertarian and normally shitty outlook on life.
Gatlin posted on 2017-04-09 09:01:06 Reply Private Reply
#7: Gatlin To: Deckard (#5)
God bless them for that …
At the same time, our heroes continue to provide a safe bus stop shelter for the locals by cleaning out the homeless who use them to drink, smoke and set up housekeeping in to eat their pizza.
This a concept that I really like….and so should you, asshole.
Gatlin posted on 2017-04-09 09:38:20 Reply Private Reply
#8: misterwhite To: Gatlin (#2)
That calls for an undercover cop armed with a .45. Crime problem? BLAM! End of crime problem (and one bum).
misterwhite posted on 2017-04-09 11:20:52 Reply Private Reply
#9: Gatlin To: misterwhite (#8)
Kick in the side of the shelter and throw a flash bang grenade in.
He would probably be the only homeless man having smoked pizza that day ...
Gatlin posted on 2017-04-09 14:30:35 Reply Private Reply