Aggressive panhandlers got you frustrated? Not much can be done about it, officials say

Panhandling, and more specifically, aggressive panhandling, is becoming a problem, Bradenton officials claim.

That problem was brought to light recently with multiple complaints to city officials regarding a large group of panhandlers who work the intersections of Cortez Road, especially at the intersection with 43rd Street West.

Complaints to law enforcement include about people banging on vehicle windows, demanding money and in at least one instance, trying to open a person's car door. That person was the wife of Vice Mayor Gene Brown.

"She was scared. The police are doing a good job," Brown said. "We were able to get some of those nearby businesses to trespass them, but these are professional panhandlers and know how to escape. They are becoming very aggressive. There's not one person on this council who wouldn't help people in need, but these people aren't in need."

Trespassing is a tool, but an ineffective one, city attorney Bill Lisch said.

"The problem with a trespass ordinance is that it gives them a citation, but you can't put them in jail for not paying," Lisch said.

Courts are striking down city ordinances that relate to panhandling, deeming the solicitation of funds as a free speech issue. Lisch said he hopes to have some answers to guide the city in a new direction when he returns from a municipal attorney conference where panhandling and homeless ordinances are among the priorities of discussion.

It's not just panhandling ordinances the courts are striking down. Rulings also are going against laws like no camping ordinances like the one Manatee County has, and more recently Palmetto initiated. Loitering laws, as well, tend not to be supported in court, so addressing areas where a lot of homeless gather is also a challenge.

"Ordinances that were good for the last 10 years aren't anymore," Lisch said.

Fencing out the homeless

Bradenton took drastic action this week in an attempt to address an area of the city where a large numbers of homeless spend time.

On Wednesday, the council approved spending an estimated $20,000 to install a fence around the parking lot to the west of the 7-Eleven store at off 14th Street West and jNinth Avenue West It has become a congregation area for dozens of homeless that Ward 3 Councilman Patrick Roff said started when a former nearby church began feeding them.

"They are scaring the residents, the property tax value is being threatened and in my opinion, it is an emergency situation and should be fenced as soon as possible," Roff said. "I had asked that church multiple times not to do that. Their desire to do goodwill created a problem for the city and now they're gone and the city is left to mop up the mess."

According to Jeannie Roberts, Bradenton's public information officer, the parking lot will be completely shut off from entry, at least for now.

With the courts striking down existing ordinances, Bradenton Police Assistant Chief Paul McWade said, "We are looking for tools. The officers feel like their hands are tied."

McWade said he's personally gone to the Riverwalk bathroom area and seen children playing right next to the homeless who had just "made a mess" in the bathrooms.

"If we see them committing a crime, we can trespass them, but if they are just sleeping, there is not a whole lot the officers can do," he said.

Most city parks officially close at a certain time so trespassing violators is easy. However, with Riverwalk in Bradenton and Riverside Park in Palmetto, the parks are open around the clock. Palmetto officials discussed setting hours on Riverside, but they are trying alternative solutions before revisiting that proposal.

Bradenton won't set a closing time for Riverwalk, but is considering setting hours for specific parts such as the amphitheater, which officials say has become a problem area as well.

The amphitheater, said Brown, "is becoming the toilet of Riverwalk."

Busing out the homeless

McWade said officers are seeing a surge of homeless on the streets. The ones they have made contact with say they are from Jacksonville and that the city gave them free bus passes to get to Bradenton.

The Bradenton Herald was unable to confirm that. Three homeless people, who did not want to be identified, said they had not heard seen any signs of that. One of the three homeless said he was from Jacksonville but that he came down on his own to try and find his lost brother.

Another said he sees new faces every year but from a variety of states, "and they typically don't last long before they move on."

The third, from New Jersey has been in town for seven months, noting he also got here on his own and has not seen many new faces.

But it's not uncommon. Some cities, including Bradenton, have set aside money to bus homeless to other cities, claiming to vet the people to ensure they are legitimately trying to get home to family or somewhere where they have work.

In 2014, Sarasota made national headlines when it began providing the homeless a one-way ticket out of town. From 2014-15, Bradenton police reported an influx of homeless from Sarasota.

The same thing happened a year later when the city of St. Petersburg implemented a similar program and Bradenton police, at that time, reported an influx of homeless from the Tampa Bay area. And now police say the influx is from Jacksonville.

In December of 2017, The Guardian released the results of an 18-month investigation of cities busing out homeless.

They were able to track 20,000 homeless people who have been shuffled back and forth across the country with an interactive map literally showing paths of travel to municipalities who were simply exchanging one homeless person for another, in some cases.

This story was originally published June 29, 2018 at 10:12 AM.