—Mayor says 14-year “handshake agreement” created ambiguity that led to homeless advocate’s arrest in MLK Plaza—
Mayor D.C. Reeves said Monday he hopes to reach a “harmonious conclusion” that will allow community advocate Mike Kimberl to continue feeding homeless individuals in downtown Pensacola, while also establishing clear rules for using city parks after dark.
Reeves addressed Kimberl’s Nov. 28 arrest at MLK Plaza during his weekly press conference, calling the incident “another case” of problems created by informal “handshake agreements” rather than written policies.
- “This particular incident was rooted in some ambiguity,” Reeves said. “There was a handshake agreement from 14 years ago, and I tried to do my best for the sake of both parties to always get rid of handshake agreements and have some clarity.”
Meeting Scheduled, Permit Costs May Be Waived
The mayor said Kimberl will meet with city staff this afternoon to discuss obtaining a permit for the weekly Food Not Bombs meal distribution that has occurred at MLK Plaza for more than a decade.
- Reeves indicated he would be willing to help cover or offset permit costs. “This is not a case where this is a revenue discussion. It’s really not,” the mayor said, explaining that permits serve safety purposes, including insurance coverage, emergency contacts, and point-of-contact information.
Both the Pensacola Police Department and City Hall have offered their parking lots as temporary locations for the food distribution while the permit situation is resolved, according to Reeves.
- “I know they’ve offered up their parking lot certainly for as many hours as they would need during the meantime,” Reeves said of PPD. “Certainly I would do the same at City Hall on a Friday night, so that one of the events isn’t skipped.”
Mayor Stands By Officer’s Conduct
While expressing appreciation for efforts to help the homeless community, Reeves said he reviewed video of the incident and “stand[s] fully by our officer and his professionalism and his conduct throughout this particular incident.”
“I don’t think that Mr. Kimberl had any ill intent, and I certainly don’t think our officer had any ill intent,” the mayor said. “But this is one of those things where why we try to eliminate ambiguity is that there is a rule on the books clearly that the park closes at night.”
The mayor said he could not speak to whether charges against Kimberl would be dropped, deferring that question to the Pensacola Police Department or State Attorney’s Office.
Park Hours Debate Resurfaces
The arrest has renewed debate about whether MLK Plaza should have different hours than the city’s other 94 parks, which close at sunset unless otherwise posted. Reeves acknowledged that MLK Plaza is “unique” compared to traditional parks with large acreage and playground equipment, but said changing the rules for one park creates complexity.
“What we would not want to do is start going down the road of saying each individual park in the city would have individual rules,” Reeves said. “How could we ever have a police department memorize and enforce that?”
The mayor said he remains “open-minded about adjustments that make sense for MLK Plaza” but has not identified a solution that doesn’t create additional problems.
When asked why police chose to enforce the park closure rules now, after 14 years of the weekly food distribution, Reeves deferred to the police department, saying he would not speak to their policies and procedures.
- The mayor said he did not view the officer’s interaction with Kimberl as a “confrontation” based on his review of the video.
The mayor emphasized that the goal is to allow the community service work to continue while ensuring everyone operates “under the rules that everybody else has followed.”
- “We want them to be able to continue to make those efforts,” Reeves said. “We want our officers to feel comfortable with enforcing the laws on the books. If they aren’t, then we’ve got bigger questions.”
Apparently, no one has told Mayor Reeves that “he” is the chief law enforcement officer of the city. He should quash the arrest or perhaps issue a pardon to Mike Kimberl. Or, let’s pray the State Attorney refuses to file charges or if not a sane judge dismisses the charges. Hard to believe a jury would convict Mike Kimberl given the absurdity of it all. By the way, the penalty if Kimberl is convicted on either charge is up to a $500 fine or six months in jail or both. See Section 1-1-8 in the City Code. A combined $1000 fine and 12 months in jail seems very harsh just for feeding the homeless. Reeves and Kimberl do at least agree that a handshake agreement has been in place since 2011 allowing Food Not Bombs to feed the homeless in Martin Luther King Square on Friday nights, as has been done for 14 years. Who on the city side was a party to the deal? Mayor Hayward? So, if such an agreement did exist last Friday, what would have been Officer Roper’s good faith basis for investigating Mike Kimberl for violating a city law city hall had agreed to not enforce? If Mike Kimberl was acting in compliance with the 14-year old agreement, what state law would then require him to prove his identify to Officer Roper? Why was Officer Roper at Martin Luther King Plaza last Friday? Is that part of his regular on-duty PPD patrol beat? Or was he working off-duty for the Downtown Improvement Board (DIB)?
“What we would not want to do is start going down the road of saying each individual park in the city would have individual rules,” Reeves said. “How could we ever have a police department memorize and enforce that?”
Answer: The same way they do now — 1) Admiral Mason Park is open 6am-10pm. 2) Aviation Discovery Park open 6am-8pm. 3) Bayview Park open 7am-9pm. 4) Chimney Park open 6am-9pm. 5) Hitzman Optimist Park open 7am-9pm. 6) Zamora Square open 6am-11pm.
Seems MLK Plaza could just as easily be added to this “exception” list if there was any desire. Otherwise, the Mayor’s argument rings hollow.