A Georgia city will revise its panhandling laws and pay $55,000 following the arrest of a man who carried a sign reading “God Bless the Homeless Vets” was arrested.
U.S. Army veteran and retired truck driver Jeffrey Gray was standing outside city hall in Port Wentworth, GA holding a sign that said “God Bless the Homeless Vets” when a police officer arrested him. Gray, who began filming police interactions in 2011 as “civil rights investigations” and posted them to his YouTube channel, filmed the interaction. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), which is representing Gray yet again for this third suit, shared that the police were called, “Because [the sign] made city employees uncomfortable, a police officer told him that the sidewalks were private property and asked that he leave.” FIRE added “When Jeff began to film the encounter and asked if he was trespassing, the police officer detained him. When Jeff refused to identify himself, saying he would rather leave, he was arrested for refusing to provide identification.” Gray has filed his suit against Port Wentworth Police Lt. Robert Hemminger in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, Savannah Division.
