A woman was arrested for feeding homeless people in Arizona. Now she's suing the city.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/10/26/woman-arrested-feeding-homeless-sues-bullhead-city-arizona/ [login to see] /
BULLHEAD CITY, AZ — Arrested for doing something she’s done her whole life, now an Arizona woman is fighting back with the help of a non-profit organization.

In March, Norma Thornton went to a park near her home in Bullhead City to feed the homeless.

The 78-year-old says she is used to making food in large quantities after she once worked in a commercial restaurant in Alaska before moving to Bullhead City with her husband.

While serving 20-30 people experiencing homelessness that day in March, police told her she was violating a recently passed ordinance.

The ordinance requires people to get a permit for preparing food in a public park for a “non-social gathering” motivated by “charitable purposes.”

Norma said she doesn’t have the $250 to get her permit which would only be good for one day of the month.

Norma was arrested and processed. A video shows the arresting officer declining to place Thornton in handcuffs as he loads her into a patrol vehicle. He asked twice if they really wanted him to arrest the elderly lady that was helping the homeless with home-cooked meals and the response was -Yes!

The city has since dropped her misdemeanor charge, according to the lawsuit.

“I don’t see it as an act of kindness or any great thing. It’s just what everybody should be led to do. Love your neighbor. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. Treat other people with complete, total respect,” she said over a Zoom call to ABC15 on Wednesday. “If they’re hungry for God's sake and you have an extra slice of bread, share it."

Norma is represented by the non-profit, Institute for Justice.

They filed a federal lawsuit this week aimed at overturning the ordinance.

They posted a video of Norma’s story which included a bodycam video where one of the responding officers tells one of their “higher-ups” that he thinks arresting Norma is a “PR nightmare.”

In a statement on their Facebook page, Bullhead City said the ordinance was put in place in 2021 after residents complained about not being able to use the park due to the number of those experiencing homelessness.

They go on to say food can be given out as long as it is sealed, pre-packaged food readily available from retail outlets and intended for consumption directly from the package.

The Bullhead City Police Department also posted on their Facebook page saying in part there were nine months of education about the new ordinance without any enforcement.