Expanding Police Power on the Beach: Rotkin Vs. Meyberg Debate

Attorney David Meyberg and activist Jhon Golder spent an hour and a half on Sunday April 1st, dissecting the proposed law.

Check out their discussion at http://www.radiolibre.org/brb/brb070401.mp3 (about half way into the file).

At issue: P & R "lifeguards" armed with batons stopped some surfers from a surf school from walking across a public beach to the waves. The P & R lifeguards claimed that the City "owned" the beach and could block access of the school unless the school paid them a fee.

David Meyberg successfully argued in appealing the tickets that the city's law allowed for no such thing. He also reportedly plans to sue the beachbum gumshoes, perhaps for false arrest. In response, with no stats about a crime wave or a need to suddenly pass a law that will prevent independent surfer school access to the beach, City Council is moving to expand the police power of the lifeguards to okay what they did and allow it again in the future.

Council critic Norse, who will be moderating the debate, believes this is another instance of after-the-fact legalizing bad police and staff decisions. It was done in 1994 and again in 2002 with nastier Downtown Ordinances giving police broader powers downtown. It's happened last year when P & R drove The Potters Hand (a homeless feeding program) from San Lorenzo Park and Grants Street Park.

P & R has been showered with money this year septupling (increasing by a factor of seven) its police power in the Pogonip, with no checks on out-of-control Ranger John Wallace, who has been regularly destroying homeless survival gear and camps in violation of the federal Constitution. [See details of the Fresno Kinkaid decision at http://www.fresnoalliance.com/home/homelessness.htm]

Listen in and call in, and then call City Council and tell them to vote no on this expansion at 420-5020.

Be advised, however, the fix is probably in on this bill.

Norse hopes to follow a format that allows non-Council members the time and liberty usually allowed Council members, but also gives Councilmember Rotkin the power to question, challenge, and debate--in a format we'd like to see applied to City Council. Or so host Norse hopes.