Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? Not in Glendale

The city of Glendale has issued warnings to dozens of people for asking for money since the city enacted a sweeping ban on panhandling last fall.

Records obtained by Phoenix New Times show that the city issued 52 warnings so far since the new city law took effect in November. The city also took one man to court, fining him $225 for asking for money at an intersection while holding a photo of a sick child.

The records provide the first detailed look at how the city has enforced its ban on panhandling, which has drawn condemnation from the ACLU of Arizona.

"This latest information revealed by the city seemingly confirms the ACLU of Arizona’s fears that the ordinances were passed specifically to punish all speech by unsheltered residents, even in public spaces," said Ben Rundall, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU of Arizona, in a statement to New Times.

In the lead up to the Super Bowl in Glendale on February 12, the city passed two ordinances criminalizing panhandling. The broad restrictions prohibit panhandling at a bus or at a bus station, within 50 feet of any bank or ATM, within 25 feet of any private business, or in an "aggressive manner." Requesting money from anyone in a car is also banned.

The first violation of the ordinances is a civil offense with a fine. But subsequent violations within 12 months can bring a misdemeanor criminal charge punishable by up to six months in jail.

City officials have said that the ordinances were intended to keep people safe by prohibiting them from walking in roadways and asking for money. “The goal of the city of Glendale isn’t to generate revenue off these people,” Glendale's deputy city manager, Rick St. John, told 12News in October.

Yet the city has received significant pushback. On January 27, two weeks before the Super Bowl, the ACLU of Arizona demanded that the city cease enforcement of the ordinances. The organization said the wide-ranging ban raised significant First Amendment concerns and argued that similar measures in other cities have been struck down by courts.

The ordinances were "overbroad and facially unconstitutional," the ACLU said in a letter to the city. They caused "the effect of banning protected speech by preventing citizens from selling newspapers, soliciting donations to their preferred political organization, offering to work as a day laborer, or requesting charitable assistance."

The ACLU called the prohibitions "nothing more than a blanket ban on speech to reduce public discomfort about panhandling in anticipation of the Super Bowl."

Despite warning that the organization would consider "challenging Glendale's unconstitutional ordinances in federal court if necessary," the ACLU has not yet filed any lawsuit. In February, after the ACLU's letter, the Glendale City Council tweaked the ordinances but did not make substantial changes. For instance, under the updated code, the ban applies to written signs asking for money as well as verbal requests.

Criminalizing Panhandling

Since November, when the ban took effect, the city has issued 52 warnings to individuals asking for money, including three in February after the ACLU's letter was received by the city.

According to documents obtained by New Times, one man was taken to court and fined $225 for asking for money. The man, who New Times was not able to reach, was given several warnings as well as a civil citation. If he is seen asking for money again, police officers could charge him with a crime.

Glendale officers encountered the man twice in November asking for money in the median at the intersection of 67th Avenue and Bethany Home Road. They issued him warnings, according to accounts of the interviews obtained by New Times. On December 4, an officer saw him standing on the median at 43rd and Northern avenues.

He was "holding a sign with a photo of a sick child asking for money," the officer recounted. The man told the officer "he was sorry and wanted to leave," and the officer issued him a $225 fine.

The fine has since been paid, court records show. The police department said that the man is "not homeless," though those details were redacted in the documents obtained by New Times.

In an email to New Times, Glendale police Sergeant Randy Stewart wrote that the department's use of the ordinance "have been geared towards offering services instead of punitive measures." Stewart said that the agency has offered "homeless services" to 349 people since November.

Rundall said the ACLU was "closely monitoring" the city's enforcement of the ordinances.

"Given the rapid increase in the number of residents experiencing homelessness, it’s a shame the city is prioritizing enforcement of ordinances that only exacerbate the problem," he said. "We again urge the city to reconsider its policies and focus on real solutions that will help, not criminalize their Glendale community members."