A couple weeks ago, two of my friends and I were looking for something
to do. We decided to go get some sorbet, and sit on hidden beach on
Cedar Lake. So, we get to the beach, and are sitting, quietly eating
our sorbet when 6 police vehicles drive down on the beach. They gave
all of us (the three of us, plus 2 others that were swimming farther up
on the beach) misdemeanor charges of being in a park after it closes. A
misdemeanor, for the record, carries a maximum fine of $1000 and/or 90
days in jail. In Minnesota, other examples of misdemeanors include
forms of assault, prostitution, and DWI. After seeing a hearing
officer, the misdemeanor was dropped to a petty misdemeanor (not a
criminal charge), and the fine was lowered from $112 to $90.
This raised a couple of concerns - primarily, why is it a crime for law
abiding citizens to use our award winning park system for 8 hours
(10pm-6am) a day? In my case, we weren't doing anything bad, other than
being in the park.
I have been in touch with a couple of park people, but I'm wondering
what other Minneapolis residents think. Specifically, how would you
feel if the law were changed from a primary offense to a secondary
offense? So, being in a park would not, itself, be a crime. However,
doing something bad (drinking, being obnoxiously loud, etc) in a park
would be punishable with the added offense of being in the park after it
closed. That way, poor college students (like myself and the people in
my posse) would be able to utilize our park system, while police would
still be able to chase after criminals in our parks.
Thoughts?
John Schrom
Stevens Square
--
John Schrom
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"Our lives begin to end the day we
become silent about things that matter."
-Martin Luther King Jr.
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