Katrina evacuee arrested for panhandling

[SofaKingLiberal]

ATLANTA, GA, United States (UPI) -- A man who fled Louisiana with his family to escape Hurricane Katrina was arrested in Atlanta for panhandling, which is against the law in parts of the city.

James Scott says he had slept in a car for days with his brother, sister and her two young children before they decided to ask for help.

Nearly broke, the family drove to Buckhead, an affluent north Atlanta neighborhood Thursday and began asking passing mototists for help.

But, after about half an hour later he was approached by a policeman who arrested him for soliciting despite his showing of proof he was not a local homeless person but rather an evacuee down on his luck in an unfamiliar city, the Atlanta Journal Constitution said.

As he was being taken to jail, he said, another officer gave him $7.

Atlanta Police Department spokesman John Quigley said soliciting on a public sidewalk is allowed in the area, but not in traffic.