Food Not Bombs conducts feedings four days a week at the corner of Smith and McKinney streets in downtown Houston near the public library. Shere Dore, one of the volunteers, said the feedings have been held at that corner for years.
[Ads /]
Starting in March, Houston police began issuing the group tickets for violating a city ordinance that was enacted in 2012.
The ordinance made it "unlawful for any organization or individual to sponsor or conduct a food service event on public or private property without the advance written consent of the public or private property owner or other individual with lawful control of the property."
The group had never faced issues under the ordinance prior to this year. Now, three times a week, volunteers have to decide which of them will receive the ticket.
As of Wednesday, the volunteers had received a collective 47 tickets. Last week, one of the volunteers was found "not guilty" during a jury trial in municipal court.
Dore's seven tickets on the docket and Aliene Wingate Adams' one were dismissed Thursday.
"It really made me happy," Wingate Adams said. "These are tears of joy, in case you were wondering."
[Ads /]
The tickets were dismissed for insufficient evidence because the HPD officers did not show up for court.
"I expect the city to double down," Paul Kubosh, the attorney representing the volunteers, said after the dismissals. "I do not expect to have an easy day like this again."
In a past statement, the city of Houston said there had been a recent increase in the number of violent incidents directed at employees and visitors of the Houston Library, and people have voiced that they feel uncomfortable visiting the area.
The city offered Food Not Bombs an alternate location less than half a mile away to hold their feedings. The group said they do not plan to move.
Since the volunteer was found not guilty in a trial last week, HPD has continued issuing the group tickets.
[Ads /]
"It is ridiculous," Wingate Adams said. "They are criminalizing people who are trying to help people."
The city said in a statement after the first verdict that they plan to "vigorously pursue violations" and called it a "health and safety issue for the protection of Houston's residents."
ABC13 asked the city of Houston after the additional eight citations were dismissed if they plan to continue issuing citations despite the court verdicts, if they have an estimate of how much issuing the citations and subsequent court dates are costing, and if there is any intention of meeting with the group to reach a solution.
They sent a statement in response from the city attorney almost identical to the one from last week but included that they plan to refile cases that were dismissed without prejudice.
"The City of Houston intends to vigorously pursue violations of its ordinance relating to feeding of the homeless. It is a health and safety issue for the protection of Houston's residents. There have been complaints and incidents regarding the congregation of the homeless around the library, even during off hours. No municipality prevails in every prosecution of a category of violations. Houston intends to refile cases dismissed without prejudice. Houston prevailed in the first matter and expects to do so in several others. The City has carefully balanced competing concerns, ensuring through its own program and through its significant allocation of funds that there are alternative, nearby feeding locations that have been well attended and well received."
For more on this story, follow Mycah Hatfield on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.