Jail For Washington Ave. Bar Owner, Citations From Civility Ordinance, Jail For Crosswalk Protestors-Whitmire Uses Law To Punish Opponents & Obstacles

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I don’t like most all the bars along Washington Ave. Few are any place a young midwestern punk rocker would go in the 1980’s. (Pearl is someplace I would have gone.) 

(Above is Washington Ave today, 11/16.) 

However, just because you run one of those lousy bars, does not mean Mayor Whitmire should have you in jail for 48 hours for something that most always leads to a citation. 

Mayor Whitmire appears to be establishing a pattern of using aggressive police actions and harsh application of the legal system to punish opponents and people who just get in the way of his plans. 

From the 11/12 Houston Chronicle:

“Bar owners are crying foul over the City of Houston's recent approach to public safety on Washington Avenue, where in May one owner was arrested over a sanitary complaint that typically ends in a written citation….Seyed Ghoreishi of Sidebar, said he's been in the business 25 years and knew and supported the police officers who patrolled the area…..Ghoreishi said his opinion on the city’s enforcement changed when he was arrested in May and charged with failure to comply with local sanitary laws, according to Harris County court records. Ghoreishi said he spent almost 48 hours in jail after he was arrested and accused of having roaches in his bar (an allegation he denies)….About a week later, prosecutors filed to have the charge against Ghoreishi dismissed, citing lack of probable cause…Jonathan Zendeh Del, a Galveston-based criminal defense attorney and a law professor, said Ghoreishi's experience is unusual. Zendeh Del did not represent Ghoreishi in his criminal case, but reviewed the proceedings to offer a legal opinion for the Chronicle….”Typically, if a business is cited for a sanitation concern, the city issues a notice or a fine and the given establishment is given an opportunity to correct the issue," Zendeh Del said. "It is not something that normally results in a person being handcuffed and taken to jail.”…The fact that the charge was dismissed so quickly causes him to question whether the city is using legally-sound criminal enforcement power, Zendeh Del said….Whitmire has made policing along Washington Avenue one of the centerpieces of his mayoral tenure.”

This is not the only time it Mayor Whitmire has seemingly used police to unusually ticket or rustle up an extended time in jail for someone he does not like.

Mayor Whitmire promised over and over that extension of the so-called Civility Ordinance would not lead to a big jump in tickets for homeless people for being out on the street. However, NPR KUHF 88.7 reported that is just what has happened. Citations went up dramatically right away as the ordinance was extended.

From KUHF:

"After city officials expanded the so-called civility ordinance in mid-July, effectively banning homeless people from sidewalks in certain parts of Houston, law enforcement officers also ramped up enforcement of a separate, citywide rule prohibiting more general sidewalk obstructions."

​There were unnecessary arrests when the Pride Crosswalk was removed. From Chron.com:
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"On Monday, Oct. 21, a number of people flocked to the rainbow crosswalk at Westheimer and Taft, set on stopping the removal of the beloved Montrose road art.... Houston METRO was quick to compl. ...A group of Houstonians learned of the plan and appeared at the intersection before the removal was set to begin, and an impromptu protest broke out. Two hours into the protest, when the construction crew began to work...demonstrators staged a sit-in... Houston Police's Special Response Group eventually arrested activists Michael Edwards, Kristin Donaldson, Peter Bratvedt and Ethan Hale....As of Friday, Oct. 24, those charges have officially been dropped by the DA "

I don't have the link here, but I saw a council meeting after the arrests where Councilmember Abbie Kamin discussed with one of the people arrested, Ethan Hale, how he had been kept in jail for almost 48 hours after. There was no need for that. 

​Mayor Whitmire is a bully with a police force at his command. He's made clear he values order as he narrowly defines it, rather than justice or respectfully listening to opponents. As we move deeper and deeper into the authoritarian and white supremacist Presidency of Donald Trump, it's clear Mayor Whitmire cannot be counted on to protect us or to fight for our rights. He can't be trusted to apply the law fairly. 

I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later on Egberto's YouTube channel.​​​​​​

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