Post by Logan on Jan 13, 2016 1:51:57 GMT -6
MANCHESTER — Lawyers representing civil libertarians and the poor filed suit against the city this week, challenging the police department’s use of the state’s disorderly conduct law to charge panhandlers who hold signs on city sidewalks and ask motorists for money.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court by the New Hampshire branch of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire and New Hampshire Legal Assistance.
The lawsuit discloses memos exchanged between police officials and the city’s legal department over what laws could be used against panhandlers. Police opted to use the state’s disorderly conduct law and not a 2015 city ordinance that prohibits the exchange of items between a motorist and anyone stepping into the road.
The plaintiff is Theresa M. Petrello, an Army and Navy veteran who the suit said turned to panhandling in May after losing a housekeeping job to health problems that include arthritis and bone spurs.
Continued at www.newhampshire.com/Manchester-sued-over-panhandling-arrests .
The lawsuit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court by the New Hampshire branch of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire and New Hampshire Legal Assistance.
The lawsuit discloses memos exchanged between police officials and the city’s legal department over what laws could be used against panhandlers. Police opted to use the state’s disorderly conduct law and not a 2015 city ordinance that prohibits the exchange of items between a motorist and anyone stepping into the road.
The plaintiff is Theresa M. Petrello, an Army and Navy veteran who the suit said turned to panhandling in May after losing a housekeeping job to health problems that include arthritis and bone spurs.
Continued at www.newhampshire.com/Manchester-sued-over-panhandling-arrests .