Protesters challenge ban on sitting, lying on sidewalks

At noon, a group of about 20 men and women lingered along Sixth Avenue, some holding signs, while two security guards and a police officer looked on. The protesters included Lisa Maxon, lying flat on her back on the sidewalk, and Bryant DeHusson, sitting in a chair holding a placard that read, "This is illegal."

At one point, the group repeatedly shouted "Whose sidewalk? Our sidewalk!"

And while the protesters said they expected police to issue citations or even arrest them, the police department says officers are not yet enforcing the law.

"The department's not ready to enforce it," said Lt. Anthony Henry. "There's not a mechanism for (officers) to do that yet. When the law's passed, you still have administrative things that need to take place."

Police and the court system need to iron out details such as bail schedules and court codes and classifications, Henry said. Henry said he did not know when officers might start enforcing the law.

First introduced by Mayor Dan Sullivan and passed by the Anchorage Assembly last month, the law makes it a crime to sit or recline on downtown sidewalks from 6 a.m. to midnight during the week and until 2:30 a.m. on weekends. Under the law, panhandling after dark and obstructing pedestrian or vehicle traffic downtown is also illegal. An attempt to rescind the law failed at the Assembly's Dec. 13 meeting.

Officers can write offenders a ticket for up to $100, but Police Chief Mark Mew has said police have discretion in using the law and will likely only issue citations as a last resort.

The Alaska Civil Liberties Union has called the law unconstitutional and a violation of First Amendment free speech rights. Lt. Henry said it's unlikely officers will ever arrest sitting or reclining protesters who are not violating other laws.

"They're going to have a lot more flexibility if they're doing a sit-in," Henry said. "We cherish and hold in high regard the constitutional rights that citizens have."

Tina Robinson, a protest organizer, said police officers have better things to do with their time.

"Our police have some legitimate activities that they have to engage in every day, to just deal with the actual crime in our city, trying to manage that and actually do their jobs," Robinson said.