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
1L243 wrote:
Usually there is an agreement between the property owner and the local Law Enforcement to enforce traffic violation on their property, there may even be a sign stating so. Law enforcement can enforce laws on private property. Just because your on your own property you can't sell Meth. Vagrancy laws are enforced they are just not called that anymore. Codes against Vehicle habitation and camping in or on public land can still be enforced. Private property owners can have squatters for trespassing. Refusing to leave when told to do so...
The key word you used is USUALLY... not always. Private property owners have a lot of rights. Can you cook meth on your property? NO. Can you have your meth head friends congregate on your front porch? YES.
Walmart, like any other private business, has the right to refuse service to anyone. The police do not have the right to decide who is trespassing and who is a customer. The private business has to call the police and specifically inform them who is trespassing.
The problem here are NOT the police. The problem was you have 9 animals living in the car in the parking lot with ZERO respect for common decency or decorum. If the manager didn't contact police, they have no authority to go in and kick people out of a private business anymore than they have the authority to wander up to your house party and kick people off your lawn (providing you weren't acting in a disorderly manner that affected someone else's constitutional rights).
