Burck was arrested by Daytona Beach police officers on Saturday afternoon near the 800 block of Main Street, where he had been posing for pictures with Bike Week visitors and bystanders. It’s a shtick that he has been presenting at Bike Week, virtually without incident, for 21 years, he said.
On Saturday, however, Burck was charged with violating the city s new ordinance on panhandling and resisting an officer without violence. In making the arrest, officers broke the headstock of the performer’s red, white and blue acoustic guitar.
The ordinance, among other things, make it illegal for anyone to panhandle within 10 feet of the door of any commercial business. But Burck insists he doesn t panhandle; rather, he s a street entertainer.
I ve seen panhandlers wander into the middle of the street for their collections and even had a guy pound on my car window demanding a handout. I used to warn visitors to avoid the Boardwalk rather than run the gauntlet of aggressive panhandlers around the pier.
This was not a tenable situation. It was a traffic hazard and was killing businesses on ISB and Ridgewood. Avenue. Still, roadside signs, even handheld cardboard signs that say Why lie? I need a beer, are free speech and must be approached with care.
Court rulings striking down anti-panhandling ordinances often cite a 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said the city of Gilbert, Arizona, could not ban a church from putting disposable yard signs by the roadside advertising service times and places.
The panhandling measure, which went into effect as soon as it was passed, details the places where soliciting can now result in a $53 fine for each offense and jail time.
It s not quite as harsh as Daytona Beach s $200 fines, but it s likely to have the same effect. Just a few hours after Daytona Beach’s panhandling law went into effect in early February 2019, about 80 percent of the city’s street corner beggars put down their handwritten signs and disappeared.And two years later, Daytona Beach is still mostly clear of panhandlers. There has been a night and day difference from before our ordinance went into effect, Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young said Friday. It s holding strong.