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Months after Norma Thornton, a resident from Bullhead City, Arizona, was arrested for feeding the homeless in a city park, a video documenting the encounter has surfaced online, sparking outrage among citizens.
A video created by the Institute for Justice surfaced online shortly after the 78-year-old grandmother sued Bullhead City for espousing an ordinance that prevents people from serving homeless people. The Institute of Justice is fighting Thorthon’s case against the city.
In the video captured from the bodycam, the law enforcement officer confers with his superior inside the patrol vehicle before arresting Norma Thornton for violating a city ordinance that states that a person can’t feed the homeless in public without a permit.
The law enforcement officer, who prophetically said, “This is going to be a PR nightmare” to his superior inside the patrol car, told Thornton that she was going to be fingerprinted and possibly written up for violating the law before ushering her inside the vehicle. Thornton was not handcuffed at the premises.
Norma Thornton was arrested in March for feeding the homeless without a permit
Norma Thornton was arrested in March 2022 after she served food to people in dire straits at a Bullhead City Community Park without a permit. Thornton described her ordeal to a local news publication in Arizona, Local Today.
She said:
“I had just been serving about 26 or 27 people and the very last person to come through literally scraped the bottoms of my pans, ate the food, gave him and as he walked away, these two cops pulled up.”
The ordinance, established on May 1, 2021, prohibits distributing unsealed food to large numbers for charitable endeavors without a permit.
Charges against Thornton were dropped after she refused a plea deal. Subsequently, she sued the city for an ordinance that she believes prohibits her civil rights.
She added:
“The thought of people going hungry, I mean, doesn’t really impact me… but at least some people have enough food to survive, and I can’t even imagine living in this country and being hungry to do that.”
City responds after Norma Thornton files a lawsuit
After Thornton sued the city, authorities responded by saying that the ordinance only stops people from distributing unsealed hot food in public places since it's a safety hazard.
Officials said that people are free to distribute food to the needy if its “sealed prepackaged food readily available from retail outlets and intended for consumption directly from the package.”
However, if citizens desire to serve hot food to the homeless in open spaces, they require a permit. It should be noted that the ordinance does not apply to private gatherings.
Thornton decried the law, saying:
“The city has done it very well…that I can throw a party and host up to 100 people with no repercussions as long as I’m not feeding the homeless.”
Mayor Tom Brady said that the ordinance only applies to serving the homeless in public parks. He added that citizens can feed homeless people at shelters, private residences or churches without breaking the law.
