Panhandling ordinance enforcement / First Amendment sidewalk encounter
Lake Placid sergeant tells sign holder he cannot panhandle on public sidewalk
- Date
- December 10, 2024
- Location
- Public sidewalk outside Journal Plaza, Lake Placid
- Department
- Lake Placid Police Department
- Rights involved
- First Amendment
- Outcome
- No arrest or citation is shown. The letter says the police department mandated additional training for the sergeant. The letter requests that the city repeal ordinance 107-6.
Summary
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.
CopFax assessment (opinion)
How police handled it
Misconduct
This is CopFax's opinion based on the source video and records linked on this page. The factual summary above is separate from this assessment.
Officers involved
- Mostyn Mullins
Sergeant
Related public records
other
Demand letter to City of Lake Placid regarding ordinance 107-6
Southern Legal Counsel, on behalf of the man filming, sent a letter to the Lake Placid mayor and city commissioners stating that city ordinance 107-6 unconstitutionally restricts protected speech and asking the city to repeal it. This is a legal demand letter, not a lawsuit or court ruling. The letter is read and quoted in the linked video.
discipline
Internal investigation found policy violations; training required
December 19, 2024
According to the department memo dated December 19, 2024, as quoted in the published video description, the internal investigation found policy violations that were not malicious and required training on homeless populations, public recording and First Amendment auditors, including FBI-LEEDA training beginning January 21, 2025. The recorded administrative interview is published in the linked video.
Coverage
No additional coverage linked.