BULLHEAD CITY, Ariz. — An Arizona woman has filed a lawsuit against Bullhead City after she was arrested under a city ordinance that restricts the charitable distribution of food in public parks.
According to KTVK and KPNX, Norma Thornton, 78, was arrested in March after she distributed home-cooked meals to homeless people from a van at a city park. Local authorities said she violated a 2021 ordinance that requires anyone hosting “food-sharing events at public parks to obtain a permit” and follow other health regulations, according to the city code.
The city later dropped the charge against Thornton, who has been holding similar events since 2018, according to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for Arizona.
“Several days a week, Norma would share her wholesome, complete, hot meals in the public park with anyone who asked, including people experiencing homelessness and low-income people who live nearby,” attorneys from the Institute for Justice wrote in the filing on Thornton’s behalf. “Norma would provide plates and utensils, and she would always ensure that she left the area clean. Norma hoped that her efforts would not only keep people alive but also help them turn things around. Moreover, Norma hoped her example could inspire her community to do more to help those in need.”
The lawsuit, which alleges that the city “does not want people feeding those in need,” argues that the ordinance violates Thornton’s constitutional rights.
“The prohibition violates her right to engage in charitable acts and to share food with the needy, which is protected by the Due Process and Privileges or Immunities clauses of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” the lawsuit reads. “The disparate treatment between people sharing food for charitable purposes and people sharing food for non-charitable purposes also violates her right to equal protection, which is protected by the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”
The city code, however, says the ordinance is meant to “protect public health, safety and welfare.”
“City departments have been repeatedly called to address public nuisance and other illegal behavior, clean-up human waste, litter, trash and other debris left over from the food sharing events,” the code reads. “These activities have resulted in a deterioration of the condition of public property and negatively affect use of parks by other patrons.”
Bullhead City Police Chief Robert Trebes said in a statement that such events can be held on private property, including churches, according to KPNX.
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