Florida

November 19, 2025 · Green Cove Springs Police Department · Green Cove Springs, FL

A sergeant responded to calls about a man holding a sign near an active construction area, described as HOA or CDD property. He asked the man for ID and the man declined. The sergeant then contacted the property office and his commander. He told other officers the man was not doing anything wrong, was not asking for money, and had a right to record and hold a sign in public. He said police could do nothing unless the property owner acted or the man caused disturbances.

November 19, 2025 · Boca Raton Police Department · Boca Raton, FL

A park ranger asked a man with a 'God bless the homeless' sign if he had been asking for money. The ranger called police about a person panhandling at Wildflower Park. Officers arrived and told him he could not solicit money. The man said asking for money is protected speech. The officers then spoke privately with a ranger and looked up the park rules and state law. They said no city park ordinance or state statute prohibits solicitation, that recent park trespass rules were not being enforced, and that he was in no violation. They told him they would return if people complained.

May 28, 2025 · Flagler Beach Police Department · Flagler Beach, FL

A Flagler County Sheriff's Office commander interviews a Flagler Beach officer under oath in an administrative investigation of an alleged arrest procedure violation. The officer says he saw no crime or harassment, told the restaurant staff the man was 'technically not doing anything wrong,' and did not think he had enough to arrest. He says he deferred to the sergeant because he was new. He says officers were told they could trespass people from the boardwalk and pier area at their discretion, and that he had no map of city property lines. He also says he would not have pushed the man into the car, and that he would not make the arrest knowing what he knows now and would apologize to the man.

December 10, 2024 · Lake Placid Police Department · Lake Placid, FL

A business owner called dispatch about a man with a sign outside Journal Plaza and asked whether it was a violation. The caller asked for a call back from an officer first. A sergeant then approached the man holding the sign and said there was no panhandling in town limits and that it was town property. The man said he was engaged in protected speech on a public sidewalk. The sergeant told him not to push his buttons and said it would not end well. The video ends the encounter with no arrest or citation shown. A demand letter read later in the video says the police department mandated additional training for the sergeant.