Three hundred and seventy-five people cited for panhandling in Colorado Springs will have their charges dismissed in response to action by the ACLU of Colorado.
That group found that city police were citing people who only held up signs asking for money. The city’s law against panhandling forbids active or aggressive solicitation.
"These are folks who were not committing any crime, but yet the city was prosecuting them for conduct that didn’t violate the panhandling ordinances," said Mark Silverstein legal director for the ACLU of Colorado.
In a letter to the ACLU, Springs City Attorney Wynetta Massey said the city would drop charges, fines and arrest warrants for people improperly cited. She also said she will push to repeal two panhandling ordinances.
