Police in California Arrest Activists Feeding Homeless in City Park

Nine people in California, including a 14-year-old child, are facing misdemeanor charges for handing out food to the homeless at a city park, NBC San Diego reports.

The volunteers, part of a group called Break the Ban, were handing out food, shoes, clothes and toiletries to homeless people in El Cajon when police officers told them they were subject to arrest if they continued sharing food. Everyone who was handing out food were arrested, given a misdemeanor citation with a date to appear in court and released.

The group was formed after the El Cajon City Council in October passed an ordinance restricting residents from food sharing on city-owned properties as a way to protect the public from hepatitis A.

"It was absolutely necessary to break this law until they were willing to enforce it, and, now that they have, we will continue this fight in court," organizer Shane Parmely told the San Diego Union-Tribune.

"Our goal it to get the ban overturned and sit down and figure out how to humanely deal with something that's not going away," said Mark Lane, another one of the event's organizers.

The group is planning another event on Jan. 27 at Wells Park, which is also owned by the city.

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