A city in Georgia will change its free speech policies and pay $55,000 to settle a lawsuit, more than two years after police arrested a veteran for allegedly panhandling.
Jeff Gray, an Army veteran and self-described First Amendment auditor, frequently travels around the southeast, stands on public property, and holds a sign saying "God bless the homeless vets." He does this to test officials' reactions, and frequently captures video of police who accuse him of illegal protesting or panhandling.
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In January 2022, Gray's camera was rolling while he held his sign outside Alpharetta City Hall and called out, "God bless the homeless vets" to people who passed by. Soon, a police lieutenant approached him and said two people had reported Gray for panhandling.
"I’m not panhandling, I’m just saying, 'God bless the homeless veterans’ on public property," Gray can be heard saying in the video as Lt. Arick Furr handcuffed him. Furr also took Gray's camera and turned it off, telling Gray it was to preserve the battery, according to audio still being recorded on Gray's Apple Watch.
Another officer "joined in the detention" and "interrogated and berated Gray before eventually releasing him" without charges, according to the lawsuit. But when he tried to resume his sign-holding, police again asked him to leave, and Gray complied.
With the help of the nonprofit Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), Gray sued the city of Alpharetta in 2023.
The city settled last month, agreeing to change its policies and pay $55,000. Most of that will go to Gray, while a portion will pay his lawyers.
"Alpharetta officers tried to run [Gray] out of town because they thought holding a sign was disorderly conduct," FIRE attorney Adam Steinbaugh said in a statement. "They’ll think twice next time."
The city must also provide "two hours of First Amendment training" to each officer per year in 2024 and 2025. The training will mostly focus on freedom of speech and its relationship with assembly rights, the right to record police activity, the use of profanity toward officers and refusals to answer officers' questions, according to the settlement.
Alpharetta officials and Furr's attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Even if Gray had been panhandling, the First Amendment protects people's right to ask others for money, FIRE pointed out. Yet police in the city of about 67,000 residents stopped people on numerous occasions and threatened them with citations or arrest, according to public records obtained by FIRE.
Police are now prohibited from making blanket statements that panhandling is illegal, according to Alpharetta's new policy, which took effect July 18.
"However, officers may explain that ordinances or state law limits panhandling in certain areas or manners, provided that explanation accurately conveys existing ordinances or state law," the new policy adds.
Alpharetta officers accused of violating the First Amendment will also face a higher level of internal investigation, according to FIRE.
FIRE also represented Gray in lawsuits against two other Georgia cities.
In Blackshear, police cited Gray for holding his sign without a permit, and in Port Wentworth, Gray was arrested for refusing to leave the area outside city hall where he was holding his sign, according to the lawsuits.
Both lawsuits were settled last year.
