Man fined for using metal hoe on beach. Associated Press

[teklord]

An Alabama youth minister was fined $25 for using a metal garden hoe to dig in the sand with his 7-year old son while on spring break in Panama City Beach Florida. The officer told them they could not use metal tools on the beach. The law was adopted after a rowdy 2015 spring break and was designed to protect against sexual assaults.

Bring a plastic scoop?

Tek

 

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[Tom_in_CA]

Almost hate to resurrect this thread, but here is another 'news' story with a bit more detail:

https://fee.org/articles/build-a-sandcastle-get-fined-500-and-maybe-go-to-jail/

Champ, that is a crazy news clipping ! And while it's true that this "metal digging tool" rule was actually implemented in that case (thank goodness the kid had not ... gasp .... dug to over 2 ft. deep yet), yet I'd write this story off as a "fluke".

Sure, you give lip service and stop digging. But on the other hand, no, not a "sky is falling for us md'rs" sort of thing. It would be akin to the following:

If you study all the newspaper stories across the USA, for a year, you will no doubt find other such fluke things, for frivolous stuff. Eg.: perhaps a man is pulled over for eating a hamburger while driving. And given a ticket, roughed up, fined, etc... And it could be called "distracted driving". But *seriously* now: How many of us, when reading that, will stop eating while driving ? OF COURSE we see such things as "flukes" by "over-zealous cops", and ... while technically enforceable, yet we know the likeliness of someone *truly* getting a ticket for "spitting on sidewalks" is remote.

 

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[ChampFerguson/TN]

Yeah, I tend to agree Tom. I can take either side in this cop v preacher fuss depending on the tone of either's speech. If I am either party and the other brings his 'bad day attitude' in sentence #1, I know myself well enough to know that I'd bow up and smartass right back.
No way to tell now as it wasn't on video.

 

[cudamark]

Almost hate to resurrect this thread, but here is another 'news' story with a bit more detail:

https://fee.org/articles/build-a-sandcastle-get-fined-500-and-maybe-go-to-jail/

Looks totally outrageous to me. Sounds a bit like my encounter with law enforcement at a local park. It took them at least a half hour to come up with something to morph into what we were doing. Even then, it wasn't meant to include detecting. We just left and hunted somewhere else. Came back another day and time.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

... Came back another day and time.

Bingo. Do this rather than spending your available time and energy "trying to get that person to love and sanction you" . And all your time "debating semantics". Just make sure you don't run into that exact individual again. Problem solved.

I can think of parks where, in my 40+ yrs. of this, we got a busy-body or a scram. Yet others went un-bothered. So it became apparent we were just victims of an isolated fluke. So we too return 6 mo's. or a year later. And now, 20+ yrs. later, no one ever heard so-much-as "boo" ever again.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Folks can complain and blame the police for enforcing their stupid city laws, but the "Devout Christian" father got in the female officer's face and became verbally combative. In other words, most of you judge's out there in forum land would have knocked him in the noggin - instead of calling for backup. When the Sarge tried to let him off the hook, he continued to be a social warrior instead.

Why are some of you siding with this snowflake? It may be a stupid rule, but that is NOT the cop's fault.

 

[cudamark]

Folks can complain and blame the police for enforcing their stupid city laws, but the "Devout Christian" father got in the female officer's face and became verbally combative. In other words, most of you judge's out there in forum land would have knocked him in the noggin - instead of calling for backup. When the Sarge tried to let him off the hook, he continued to be a social warrior instead.

Why are some of you siding with this snowflake? It may be a stupid rule, but that is NOT the cop's fault.

The problem I see with the cop is the overzealous application of the law. It was obviously passed to curb unruly people wielding these "weapons of mass excavation", and not a little kid making a sand castle. Why not just advise the people of the ordinance and ask them to put the metal tools in the car? No money in that I guess...........

 

[Kansas_Jayhawk]

Folks can complain and blame the police for enforcing their stupid city laws, but the "Devout Christian" father got in the female officer's face and became verbally combative. In other words, most of you judge's out there in forum land would have knocked him in the noggin - instead of calling for backup. When the Sarge tried to let him off the hook, he continued to be a social warrior instead.

Why are some of you siding with this snowflake? It may be a stupid rule, but that is NOT the cop's fault.

If the officer is going to issue a citation then they have the responsibility to know the code. Absolutely nothing wrong with asking where one can find the code. Second does anyone know what the emotional state of all the people were? And an officer calling for backup in this situation is a stretch. I think there is a lot that happened on both sides. Most LEOs I know would have explained the issue asking for the hole to be filled and walked off. I don't think passing judgment either way can work without being there.


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[Tom_in_CA]

...got in the female officer's face and became verbally combative....

Really ? I must've missed that. Where did the article say he got "in her face" ? And was "verbally combative" ? Seems to me he just asked "where is that written?". He could have said that politely, nicely, normal tones, at a polite distance, etc...

So I'm just curious where, in the text, that you got that his tone was this outlandish like that.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Tom, where does it say he didn't? Only an idiot asks a Cop to cite the law instead of doing as their told. You take it up with the JUDGE, who actually has the POWER to let you slide, or take your money. RESPECT the police, and they USUALLY cut you slack! I would LOVE to see the police reports on this!

 

[Terry Soloman]

The problem I see with the cop is the overzealous application of the law. It was obviously passed to curb unruly people wielding these "weapons of mass excavation", and not a little kid making a sand castle. Why not just advise the people of the ordinance and ask them to put the metal tools in the car? No money in that I guess...........

The Officers OFFERED to walk away if they filled the hole. Daddy got mad at the cops - NOT the stupid law, big mistake.

 

[cudamark]

Somehow I got the idea that it was the metal digging tools that started all this and that the hole was within the allowed size. So they offered to forget the citation if they did something that wasn't illegal or being cited? What's next, I won't cite you for drinking a glass of wine on the beach if you cook me a hotdog? There just has to be more to this story, as, what I see is pretty peculiar.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

.... Only an idiot asks a Cop to cite the law...

I think there's a polite "non-idiotic" way to ask a police man "what law am I breaking?" or "where is that written". It's not a given that the fellow was "in your face" blah blah. The article didn't say EITHER WAY what the "tone" was. So I just found it odd that you automatically assumed this of the "devout Christian". When it's equally possible to imagine that he asked politely. Believe it or not, there are some COPS who are "in your face" personality and "combative".

Not saying the sand castle builder wasn't at fault. But just saying, we can not assume he was automatically "out-of-place", while the cop was "meek mild and nice"

 

[Tom_in_CA]

... Daddy got mad ....

Again the casting of an image of the scene . Sure, you can call it "mad" if you want. But can't it be "curious" ? Again, neither of us know. But it's not a "given" that he was acting moronically either.

 

[ChampFerguson/TN]

Terry, I wouldn't call it a 'big' mistake; it was only $25.

 

[Xraywolf]

Folks can complain and blame the police for enforcing their stupid city laws, but the "Devout Christian" father got in the female officer's face and became verbally combative. In other words, most of you judge's out there in forum land would have knocked him in the noggin - instead of calling for backup. When the Sarge tried to let him off the hook, he continued to be a social warrior instead.

Why are some of you siding with this snowflake? It may be a stupid rule, but that is NOT the cop's fault.

Officers gender does not strike me as relevant, as you are making it out to be.
Are you saying the delicate female officer felt a threat from a father and little boy on a beach and was forced to call for backup ?

Request a cite for your contention that the father "got in the officer's face and became verbally combative", you appear to be making things up on the fly to fit a certain narrative.

When told to jump, you may ask "how high?", others may want to know why they should have to jump in the 1st place.
Ironically, you are sounding more slowflake[ish] than anyone involved in this story, save for the female cop.

 

[lookindown]

Somehow I got the idea that it was the metal digging tools that started all this and that the hole was within the allowed size. So they offered to forget the citation if they did something that wasn't illegal or being cited? What's next, I won't cite you for drinking a glass of wine on the beach if you cook me a hotdog? There just has to be more to this story, as, what I see is pretty peculiar.

Yeah, the issue was supposed to be the metal tools...his hole was legal by law ...why was he told to fill the hole and everything would be fine.

 

[Terry Soloman]

You guys do crack me up! We have overbooked this thread. Who wants to volunteer to get off?

BLUE LIVES MATTER!

 

[lookindown]

Were just getting started...hang on for the ride...

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Were just getting started...hang on for the ride...

Yeah Terry!! What's wrong with a good old fashioned knock down dragged out fight? You're no fun. After all, we have to give the moderators something to do. Hahaha

 

[SteveOrygun]

Never question the Man.