HELP TRI-COUNTY AND OUR PATH PROJECT PROTECT OUR CITIZENS FROM AN OVERZEALOUS LAW

The Issue

The Lakeland City Council is considering ordinance 10-050 for passage to minimize or eliminate homelessness in the City of Lakeland.  Ordinance 10-050 is designed to permit police to ask people who are sleeping in public areas not designed for such activity to move to an approved shelter or face arrest.  Although this ordinance appears to focus on the homeless in the City of Lakeland, it also leaves the matter wide open for interpretation; for instance, as travelers become stranded at bus or train stations that use public areas to sleep because they can not afford get to a motel/hotel, they may be at risk of arrest.  If police take the ordinance interpretation even further, a person sleeping in their own back yard or on their front porch could possibly be faced with an arrest.

 

 

 

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TRI-COUNTY HUMAN SERVICESPetition Starter
This petition had 221 supporters

The Issue

The Lakeland City Council is considering ordinance 10-050 for passage to minimize or eliminate homelessness in the City of Lakeland.  Ordinance 10-050 is designed to permit police to ask people who are sleeping in public areas not designed for such activity to move to an approved shelter or face arrest.  Although this ordinance appears to focus on the homeless in the City of Lakeland, it also leaves the matter wide open for interpretation; for instance, as travelers become stranded at bus or train stations that use public areas to sleep because they can not afford get to a motel/hotel, they may be at risk of arrest.  If police take the ordinance interpretation even further, a person sleeping in their own back yard or on their front porch could possibly be faced with an arrest.

 

 

 

avatar of the starter
TRI-COUNTY HUMAN SERVICESPetition Starter

The Decision Makers

Chief Boatner
Chief Boatner
Chief, Lakeland Police Department
Mayor Gow Fields
Mayor Gow Fields
Mayor, City of Lakeland
Justin Troller
Justin Troller
City Commissioner
Phillip Walker
Phillip Walker
City Commissioner
Glenn E. Higgins
Glenn E. Higgins
City Commissioner

Petition Updates