Panhandlers

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KCPowercat
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Panhandlers

Post by KCPowercat »

Panhandlers don't bother me 99.9% of the time and the DCID has done a great job cleaning it up downtown.

That said, there are three individuals that I constantly run into that really get on my nerves. They are rude, attempt to be intimidating (which seems to work on people I see them interact with) and seem to avoid all DCID personnel, etc.

- The first is a couple. He is a tall skinny dude, she is a short overweight lady. I see them EVERYWHERE....downtown, midtown, plaza. They are the ones who bug me the most. They are completely rude, yell at people, have general disrespect for downtown business owners, and them together are very intimidating it appears based on how many people are shoveling out cash to them. They had disappeared for the last 3 months or so but are back in full force.

- The other is an older man who wears leather jacket and leather hat most of the time. He is generally not asking for anything but I have heard many comments from female friends that he is very rude and won't leave people alone. However he never appears to ask for anything.

So...guess this is basically a bitch session against these people for how they make downtown less friendly to guests. Anybody else run into these people? Seems if they have caught my attention they certainly have DCID attention....yet they continue to hang around.

Seems during events like tonight where I ran into the top couple TWICE as I went to meet friends going to the concert and walking home....that the bike cops and DCID would have a much more prominent presence around the streets.
earthling
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Re: Panhandlers

Post by earthling »

I'm more annoyed with those who give to panhandlers on the street. A better way to help is to give to a shelter and direct panhandlers to the shelter. Or at least be prepared to answer where to send them. The worse thing to do is to give any of them some change. I don't blame pandhandlers for taking advantage of the uninformed who mindlessly give to them. Supporting panhandlers is not scoring jesus/karma points, it just encourages them to depend on handouts and the problem expands exponentially.

There is clearly an increase in homeless in KC and it is showing in nearly every city park. Mill Creek Park has more than I've ever seen. I've seen over a dozen sleeping in Southmoreland Park - have never seen even one in the past. They even sleep in the Penn Valley dog park. Most keep to themselves and don't cause problems.

Not sure what can be done about the aggressive panhandlers other than encourage everyone not to give to them (on the street) and then maybe they'll go to a shelter. The City should put out signs or some kind of campaign to not give to panhandlers on the street and to instead give to shelters. Thanks to Jerry winning a lawsuit the City apparently can't make giving to panhanders illegal but they could promote the public not to give to them directly.
earthling
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Re: Panhandlers

Post by earthling »

You could pull a Gene Hackman and slap homeless who are annoying...
http://news.yahoo.com/police-gene-hackm ... 22687.html
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Re: Panhandlers

Post by KCPowercat »

I as well...follow this couple around and you will see it done regularly.....through pure intimidation...which I find it hard to blame a family of 5 from Topeka down for the concert...dad paying the people $2 to avoid the situation is much easier for him.
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Re: Panhandlers

Post by smh »

Does the older man have a white beard? There is a guy in River Market who is always around. 99.9% of the time he just sits there and doesn't bother anyone. The other day he was walking down the street as fast as he could(a near run) shouting obscenities as if he was having a conversation with someone the rest of us couldn't see. It was peculiar to say the least. We sort of just stepped to the side and gave him plenty of room to roll past.
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Re: Panhandlers

Post by KCPowercat »

smh wrote:Does the older man have a white beard? There is a guy in River Market who is always around. 99.9% of the time he just sits there and doesn't bother anyone. The other day he was walking down the street as fast as he could(a near run) shouting obscenities as if he was having a conversation with someone the rest of us couldn't see. It was peculiar to say the least. We sort of just stepped to the side and gave him plenty of room to roll past.
Cleanshaven...mostly I only see him west of Main. The couple is really the only one that really pisses me off and I've thought about really telling them off but figured, I might have a little more to lose than they do if they didn't take it well :)
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Re: Panhandlers

Post by KCtonic »

smh wrote:Does the older man have a white beard? There is a guy in River Market who is always around. 99.9% of the time he just sits there and doesn't bother anyone. The other day he was walking down the street as fast as he could(a near run) shouting obscenities as if he was having a conversation with someone the rest of us couldn't see. It was peculiar to say the least. We sort of just stepped to the side and gave him plenty of room to roll past.
I see him in River Market all the time. Like you said, mostly he doesn't bother anyone but once and a while he's yelling at a certain person - sometimes a real person... sometimes his imaginary person. He's just crazy and as far as I can tell harmless, but he scares people.
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Re: Panhandlers

Post by mean »

KCPowercat wrote:
smh wrote:Does the older man have a white beard? There is a guy in River Market who is always around. 99.9% of the time he just sits there and doesn't bother anyone. The other day he was walking down the street as fast as he could(a near run) shouting obscenities as if he was having a conversation with someone the rest of us couldn't see. It was peculiar to say the least. We sort of just stepped to the side and gave him plenty of room to roll past.
Cleanshaven...mostly I only see him west of Main. The couple is really the only one that really pisses me off and I've thought about really telling them off but figured, I might have a little more to lose than they do if they didn't take it well :)
I think I know the couple you're talking about. They have harassed me a few times, first asking for cash and when I said no, asking if I had an ATM card to get cash, and when I said no, asking if I had a credit card and could buy them some groceries. It was a good con, really, but they were super crazy aggressive. I have never encountered panhandlers that aggressive before.
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Re: Panhandlers

Post by smh »

It occurs to me that I also encountered the couple--but it was easily 3 years ago before we lived downtown. We were walking around 8th and Wyandotte and they approached asking for money. My friend who was with us doesn't know how to just says "No" and keep moving. He said, "Sorry, I only have a credit card." They pounced on that and followed us for half a block asking for him to follow them to Pizza Hut and buy a pizza. I, for one, haven't seen them since...but I'd bet anything it was the same couple.
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Re: Panhandlers

Post by scooterj »

I don't think I've seen any of these three. However a couple of Tuesdays ago there was a guy standing on the patio of The Farmhouse around 9:30pm screaming at the building and shouting obscenities at the restaurant's manager (who was not there, the place was closed and all the lights were off). We ended up calling the police when he started tossing the chairs around and trying to throw a bottle through the windows.
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Re: Panhandlers

Post by smh »

scooterj wrote:I don't think I've seen any of these three. However a couple of Tuesdays ago there was a guy standing on the patio of The Farmhouse around 9:30pm screaming at the building and shouting obscenities at the restaurant's manager (who was not there, the place was closed and all the lights were off). We ended up calling the police when he started tossing the chairs around and trying to throw a bottle through the windows.
Nice. What did the gentleman look like? A patron?
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Re: Panhandlers

Post by loftguy »

scooterj wrote:I don't think I've seen any of these three. However a couple of Tuesdays ago there was a guy standing on the patio of The Farmhouse around 9:30pm screaming at the building and shouting obscenities at the restaurant's manager (who was not there, the place was closed and all the lights were off). We ended up calling the police when he started tossing the chairs around and trying to throw a bottle through the windows.
Bath salts. Just say no.
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Re: Panhandlers

Post by scooterj »

I wasn't able to see him very well, it was dark and I didn't have my glasses on. But one of my neighbors recognized him as a guy who was passed out on a bench nearby in the middle of the afternoon a few days earlier.
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Re: Panhandlers

Post by KCPowercat »

Had a coworker tell me about this couple today. Guess they followed him for blocks as he had his headphones on and when I he heard them the male was yelling at him that he had better run home white boy.

These two are getting a out of control.
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Re: Panhandlers

Post by loftguy »

KCPowercat wrote:Had a coworker tell me about this couple today. Guess they followed him for blocks as he had his headphones on and when I he heard them the male was yelling at him that he had better run home white boy.

These two are getting a out of control.

Doesn't anyone know to dial 816.421.5243?

The CID amabassadors are quick to respond, and they can get these two corralled.
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Re: Panhandlers

Post by KCPowercat »

These two know exactly when CID isn't out and about. Never see them until late.

Also not like somebody is stopping to call just to point them out.

I had no idea of that number though... Thanks.
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