What should have been a fun family outing on March 23 turned ugly as police approached Rylee and his son on the beach to tell them their sand castle was illegal.
At first, Rylee thought the officer was joking. The local law says it’s illegal to build a sand castle while digging a hole deeper than two feet. Rylee claims the hole he and his son dug was only a foot deep.
But it wasn’t the size of the hole that got Rylee in trouble. It was the “equipment” used to dig the hole and his asking for the proper ordinance.
According to the obscure ordinance, only plastic tools are allowed on the beach, and they [Rylee and son] had some metal ones. It is important to note that the officer explained to Rylee that she would let him off with a warning if he simply filled in the hole. But Rylee wasn’t buying it. He wanted to know what ordinance he was violating.”
That was the minister’s ‘mistake’. By questioning the authority of the police officer, she then called for backup. In minutes, the family was surrounded by police arriving in four patrol cars.
It took the Panama City Beach police 20 minutes to finally produce the ordinance as Rylee requested, which was certainly within his rights.
In the American legal system, there is a principle known as Mens rae, which is Latin for “guilty mind.”
This is a standard test of criminal liability that asks the state to consider whether or not a person has broken a law knowingly before guilt can even be assessed.”
Fortunately, Rylee just paid a $25 fine to end the incident. Under the ordinance, it could have resulted in a $500 fine and up to 60 days in jail.
The ordinance was put into effect to prevent rowdy spring breakers from digging massive holes on the beach and leaving them as hazards for other beachgoers.
But that shouldn’t prevent the police from using some common sense in distinguishing between family fun and rowdyism.
As a devout Christian, Rylee says he supports law enforcement and prays “daily for their protection.” He just believes that in a nation of laws citizens have a right to know exactly which law they might be violating.
Meanwhile, Panama City Beach gains notoriety for adding illegal sand castles to the list of “victimless” crimes that keep cropping up on the books across America.
It’s hard to be the Land of the Free when the police spend time harassing families for having harmless fun.
Source: The Free Thought Project
Become the head and not the tail
I support police, but I have seen too many situations like this that should have been a passing comment to put away metal tools. Some police need to be fired for lack of common sense.
Put up black lives matter signs to run off the police. Or Antifa rules signs. No cops within a mile then.
Really? Don’t these keystone cops have more important business to attend to? I support law enforcement but just like every job,you have the numbnuts.