The City of Orlando has dropped its charge against a homeless Orlando man who was found violating a recently passed city ordinance, by sitting on a downtown sidewalk.
62-year-old Paul Clark was arrested on January 8 for sitting on a sidewalk outside of the downtown Taco Bell Cantina. At the time, Orlando Police stated that the arrest was in response to its updated Disorderly Conduct code, which makes obstructing sidewalks and roadways a crime. At the second reading of the code, the mayor stated on the record that the ordinance was not meant to police the homeless, but was really meant to be a tool when clearing the downtown corridor when the bars close.
According to the OPD, Clark became upset and hit his head repeatedly against the plastic prisoner compartment in his transport vehicle.
Orlando City Prosecutor, Alex Weaver, dropped the charge against Clark on January 11, asking that his record be cleared of the incident.
