Tragedy leads to no camping at Cottonwood, AZ Walmart
News from my home town. No camping/overnight parking We seldom park at Walmart etc... over night, but I do hate to see the opportunity to do so disappear.
Forum Discussion
This situation should have been nipped in the bud before it went terribly bad. The local police should have tossed them out after the first night when it was obvious those people had no intention of making it a one-night temporary stay. It's easy to do, and with prior coordination with the business owners, you don't need to contact them every time to get permission to move them out. With more than 40 years in law enforcement, all of it on the street, 32 years of it as a command officer, I know it is not a difficult situation unless local authorities allow it to get that way.
Somebody mentioned vagrancy laws. They've been unconstitutional for decades. However, there are trespassing laws, disorderly conduct, even littering will work. WalMart and other local businesses, along with the local law enforcement and other government authorities, need to get their stuff together, and professionally and consistently coordinate, monitor, evaluate, and enforce common sense policies for a myriad of situations, this being just one of them. Management by crisis is no longer acceptable.
Somebody mentioned vagrancy laws. They've been unconstitutional for decades. However, there are trespassing laws, disorderly conduct, even littering will work. WalMart and other local businesses, along with the local law enforcement and other government authorities, need to get their stuff together, and professionally and consistently coordinate, monitor, evaluate, and enforce common sense policies for a myriad of situations, this being just one of them. Management by crisis is no longer acceptable.
