Panama City Beach, spring break.... and this guy does the annual beach trip with his son...
But the meter maid blew a gasket when she saw the sand castle... and the associated moat. Well. That's just not allowed according to her.
So she whips out the attitude of "I'm a cop and you're ready to go to jail" and tells the guy and his son to fill in the area they had pulled sand from to built the castle (which is a good one from what I can see in the photo)
Instead of reacting like a scared dog, he said... what is the law you're referencing that says this activity is illegal?
So... she had to call for back up. 3 more police cruiser show up for intimidation sake.
Well, they aren't known for their smarts, just the bully badge mentality, and instead of simply getting the law oridnance number for the dad and son castlebuilders... he tried to bargain with the dad to get him to level the sand. Sheesh
"The ordinance states, no hole deeper than 2 ft and the hole we dug was less than 1ft. Ours was within the limits. The ordinance states not to leave without covering, it was midday and we had not left yet."
Creating a post on facebook resulted in 1.7K Shares/ 873 likes/ 844 comments/
All over a post about a $25 fine for a sand castle, but showed that cops are bullies and that the law is nuts. Up to 60 days in jail for a 2 foot deep hole on the beach? That's nuts.
But the ridiculousness of the law enforcement response got the attention of the local news http://www.wjhg.com/content/news/An-Alabama-man-has-been-fined-by-PCB-Police-for-using-a-gardening-tool-to-build-a-sand-castle-417519573.html
http://www.theadvocate.com/nation_world/article_a7812a86-1613-11e7-93c3-2b7e429099b2.html
https://www.facebook.com/bryant.rylee
By the way, there is nothing on the "Come and blow your tourist money at Panama City Beach" website about anything to do with digging on the beach, or using metal shovels http://www.visitpanamacitybeach.com/things-to-do/beaches/leave-only-footprints/
But they do have a "No alcohol on the beach during spring break month" law http://www.pcbgov.com/home/showdocument?id=2625
Here is the "No shovels, no digging deep holes" law http://www.pcbgov.com/home/showdocument?id=2139 section 7-10 "No Holes on Beach"
Then politicians and boats better stay off the beach... one is a spokeshole, the other is a hole in the ocean you throw money into.
The law banning metal shovels was among those passed in the wake of Spring Break 2015. It states that metal shovels sold in hardware stores (not children's toys) are not permitted on the beach, and any holes dug in the sand should not be deeper than 2 feet.
Beach Mayor Mike Thomas, who was a county commissioner when lawmakers adopted the rules, said they were intended to promote safety and prevent crime. He also, however, decried issuing a citation in this instance.
"When we were asking for these laws, (police) were having problems with people getting in holes to hide drug activity and sexual activity," Thomas said. "People should always be allowed to dig a sandcastle. We want people to come down and do that."
Rylee said he was given an opportunity to avoid a citation by filling in the moat around the sandcastle but insisted on seeing the law. But by the time officers produced the ordinance, he had cemented his ticket.
Beach Mayor Mike Thomas said he met with City Manager Mario Gisbert and Whitman after receiving word of the citation. He said his interpretation was that the shovels and holes were prohibited from the "sandy beach," and this occurred in the surf line, where it is impossible to dig a 2-foot-deep hole.
http://www.newsherald.com/news/20170329/youth-minister-fined-for-digging-sandcastle-with-family
So... fine, after getting publicly embarrassed by their mall cop bully badge blowhards, did anyone from city hall tell the cops to knock off the bullshit and consider the repercussions of acting like assholes and it's effect on tourism? Nope. It's not even mentioned in any news I've found on this event.
