If this is true and the man was from the affected region this could have been handled better with several different options and outcomes available to the officer in question. The decision making of some people........
<TABLE width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Evacuee Arrested for Panhandling in Ga.
Sep 07 11:24 PM US/Eastern
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ATLANTA
A man who fled Louisiana with his family to escape Hurricane Katrina was arrested for asking motorists for money in this city where banning panhandling has been a hotly debated issue.
James Scott says he had slept in a car for days with his brother, sister and her two young children before they decided to ask for help.
Nearly broke, the family drove to Buckhead, an affluent north Atlanta neighborhood Thursday and got out near a shopping mall, hoping for the charity of others.
"It's the most expensive mall in Atlanta," Scott said. "I thought I could get some help."
After a half hour of asking passing motorists for help, Scott was approached by a policeman on a bicycle. Scott showed the officer his Louisiana driver's license, his car tag and his car registration _ proof that he was not a local homeless person, but an evacuee down on his luck in an unfamiliar city. He was arrested for soliciting.
"I asked the cop, 'You can't feel my pain?'" said Scott, who added that another officer gave him $7 as he was taken to jail.
Atlanta Police Department spokesman John Quigley said soliciting on a public sidewalk is allowed, but not in traffic. He said he was not aware of any increase in panhandling arrests in Atlanta since the hurricane. Last month, Mayor Shirley Franklin signed into law a panhandling ban around tourist destinations in parts of downtown Atlanta, not the area where Scott was arrested. The ordinance drew noisy protests from opponents who declared the ban was a mean-spirited way to hide the city's homeless population.
<TABLE width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Evacuee Arrested for Panhandling in Ga.
Sep 07 11:24 PM US/Eastern
</TD><TD align=right>
ATLANTA
A man who fled Louisiana with his family to escape Hurricane Katrina was arrested for asking motorists for money in this city where banning panhandling has been a hotly debated issue.
James Scott says he had slept in a car for days with his brother, sister and her two young children before they decided to ask for help.
Nearly broke, the family drove to Buckhead, an affluent north Atlanta neighborhood Thursday and got out near a shopping mall, hoping for the charity of others.
"It's the most expensive mall in Atlanta," Scott said. "I thought I could get some help."
After a half hour of asking passing motorists for help, Scott was approached by a policeman on a bicycle. Scott showed the officer his Louisiana driver's license, his car tag and his car registration _ proof that he was not a local homeless person, but an evacuee down on his luck in an unfamiliar city. He was arrested for soliciting.
"I asked the cop, 'You can't feel my pain?'" said Scott, who added that another officer gave him $7 as he was taken to jail.
Atlanta Police Department spokesman John Quigley said soliciting on a public sidewalk is allowed, but not in traffic. He said he was not aware of any increase in panhandling arrests in Atlanta since the hurricane. Last month, Mayor Shirley Franklin signed into law a panhandling ban around tourist destinations in parts of downtown Atlanta, not the area where Scott was arrested. The ordinance drew noisy protests from opponents who declared the ban was a mean-spirited way to hide the city's homeless population.
