Could you be fined or sent to jail for watching a sideshow? Alameda Co. closer to banning spectators
"These spectators who are doing the videoing, they don't care about if anybody's in danger," one county sheriff says
ALAMEDA COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- An ordinance that could make it illegal to be a spectator at a sideshow in Alameda County passed its first reading by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
The amended version comes with a penalty of three months of jail time, instead of six and fines up to $1,000.
MORE: Video shows semi-truck participating in illegal Oakland sideshow
Multiple cars doing donuts, blocking intersections, often drawing a large crowd, like this incident near Lake Merritt in Oakland, which turned violent last month, where people in the crowd could be heard cheering on a car slamming into another parked car that was on fire.
"It really truly is a quality of life issue with the noise, and the destruction of the city streets and residential areas," Yesenia Sanchez, the Alameda County Sheriff said.
MORE: Video shows illegal Oakland sideshow with cars on fire
That's why Sheriff Sanchez co-authored a proposed ordinance with Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley which could make it illegal to attend sideshows in unincorporated parts of the county.
"These spectators who are doing the videoing, they don't care about if anybody's in danger," she said. "People are getting injured, hit, killed based off of vehicles that are hitting them in these sideshow activities. Really, it's just for us to be able to bring a better quality of life for our residents."
But David Loy, Legal Director of the nonprofit organization called the 'First Amendment Coalition' says this ordinance is a clear violation of the First Amendment.
"I understand their concerns about public safety, but this is the wrong way to do it," Loy said. "The First Amendment does not allow the government to punish people simply for exercising their free speech right to observe, document and report on events of public concern, occurring in public places, even if those events are illegal."
MORE: Videos show sideshows in SF, Oakland; police tow several vehicles involved, authorities said
Sheriff Sanchez says this wouldn't keep media organizations from doing their jobs or apply to people stuck in traffic around the incident.
She says the ordinance would help disperse sideshow spectators, whom she believes often come from out of town, to make a profit.
"Not just anybody is a spectator, it's those people who are actually engaging in the activity, who are standing there, they are recording, they're actually making money off of their presentations on YouTube and some of the social media outlets," Sanchez said.
MORE: Videos show multiple sideshows overnight in East Bay
And Supervisor Miley says this is no different from similar ordinances passed by both San Jose and Pittsburg.
"County counsel has assured me that the ordinance that we've put together is similar to other ordinances that are in other jurisdictions and we are not doing anything that's out of the norm," Miley said.
The ordinance will come back for its second reading next month with the amendment of three months of jail time as a penalty, instead of six, with up to $1,000 in fines.
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