Idiots stealing your performance area

[Mr.Taxi Trix]

I sure showed a cop who was boss once, fire juggling in Austin after a warning, when I thought he had gone. I found out that in Texas, you can spend time on the dark side of the bars for "failure to obey a police officer".
You might want to check that one out.

Check out your legal rights here, or email Steve.

http://communityartsadvocates.org/StreetArts.html

I am completely against Eurobuskers approach. Leveraged buyout- street level. YUCK. Very Starbucks.

[LarsLarsen]

I was seriously considering the liability insurance part. Since everyone I talked to said that if something happened, the cops would be liable for not stopping me before it happened.

Well I had a lengthy discussion with the cop who came and informed me that fire wasnt allowed. I said "what law allows you to stop me?", he kept just saying he's responsible for the safety of everyone on that pedestrian mall, and that if something happens he's responsible. I pointed out that lots of things are dangerous, and who is he to decide what is too dangerous? Sure, someone's kid could wander into me and get knocked in the head with a torch, but someones kid could also run out into traffic and get hit by a car.

I insisted that he tell me what law allowed him to stop me, and how exactly he could arrest me for not obeying him. He said disorderly conduct, and I just HAPPENED to have a copy of that law printed out in my pocket! I pulled it out and showed him that not only did I have to intentionally create alarm (what he said I was doing), but I had to do so in such a manner that I INSIGHTED VIOLENCE in the person such an act was directed towards. Basically its a law against insighting a riot. LOL.

He hemmed and hawed a bit, and I said, well if you cant arrest me, what will you do if I defy you? He said "I'll confiscate your equipment". I said "WHAT? You'll steal my property? What law gives you the right to STEAL?" and he said "I wont steal it", and I pointed out that unlawfully taking another persons property is called theft, and its a crime. He didnt know what to say at this point. So he told me that maybe there is no law, and maybe he has to go get city council to pass a law to ban it. I said, well, you have the right to do that, and if you do, at least I'll know WHAT law it is that prevents me from juggling fire. He told me that if I came back next week he would tell me definitely if it is or isnt allowed. I said that was fair.

He comes back awhile later and his tune changed REAL fast. He was very polite and asked if he could interrupt me (I wasnt doing a show, just juggling for a couple kids). I told him I was overheated and needed a break anyway. He appologized, said he did the research and there is no law against it. And he honestly was just trying to cover his own ass. Now if something happens and someone blames him for not stopping me, he can say "There is no law that gives me the power to stop him! My hands were tied!". He personally didnt even care if I juggled fire, and that I could continue.

Someone at city hall must have put his balls in a vice or something. This guy went from mean and argumentative to appologetic and supportive. I guess going to just about every office in city hall that day stirred something up. So I went on with my act, made a good amount of money, and as I was packing up he came by and asked me how it went, I said "it went great, thanks, I'll see you around" and he smiled and waved at me.

The little guy beats city hall and the police department? How often does THAT happen?

Anyway, the circus freaks are still shit out of luck, because the fire marshal DOES have the right to deem things unsafe, and he told me if I see them out there performing unsafely again to immedietly call the batallion chief.

I doubt they'll be back with fire. If they see me doing fire again and ask why they get shut down and I dont, I'll explain that I have specific permission from the fire marshal, and that they need to get permission in writing before they can use fire in their act. They'll never get it, because the fire marshal already knows about their prior shenanigans.

So its sort of an informal permit process. A friend of mine who is also a professional juggler (though not a stret performer) contacted the fire marshal to have his equipment inspected and get a thumbs up from them. He doesnt even perform for money, he just finds it fun to go downtown and practice his act infront of an audience occasionally.

I hope this is the end of my hassles. The circus freaks can still come snag one of the few available spots from me, but they didnt show up this time, so maybe they're scared off. Who knows, I'll deal with that if it happens, but at this point I think I can handle them, thanks to all your helpful tips!

Thanks everybody. Its been a long strange trip indeed.

Sometimes I wonder why I even bother, but yesterday I loved my job, and it ended up being reflected in my pay too People always pay me more when I'm happy.

Thanks everyone for your advice. Your accumulated knowledge and experience is so valuable.

Its interesting how many people get hassled by the cops, and I'm shocked that performing of any kind is banned in some places, or requires a permit. I never really considered that would be so widespread. I'll have to keep that in mind when I hone my act and take it on the road and start stealing your spaces Just kidding...

[Patrick Kelly]

lengthy discussion with the cop

Had this happened in New Orleans (pre Katrina)
This discussion would have been a lot shorter and would have went like this:
I pointed out that lots of things are dangerous, and who is he to decide what is too dangerous?
At this point in the conversation you would have been shot, or at least beaten severely.

[Evan Young]

pointless story

Some detectives were aresting some pervert right next to my show one day. I asked them (very annoyed me) to arrest him someplace else because it was distracting. They didn't.
It wouldn't have even crossed my mind to hassle them except that I knew that the regular beat cops that work Pearl St usually walk their suspects off the mall before putting cuffs on and asking questions. This makes the mall seem a little cleaner to the tourists..... anyway.....
They came back the next day to talk to me. I was much nicer that time, and they really didn't have much to say.

no point to the story, I just wanted to talk about myslef.


Oh, and congrats on sticking up for yourself! I can't wait to come to your town and take advantage of your hard work to keep the pitch open for fire acts!
seriously though, there arn't many places in the country where a fire show is possible, so stay on top of your game. best of luck.

[Rachel Peters]

Hamilton.

Intersection of King and James.

Down town.

It's sort of a popular area for crazies.

There was an older, white haired and bearded classical guitarist who would perform quite regularly. One day I saw what I thought was a beautiful scene. ...I felt a little guilty for being so detached from the reality of it. While some sweet, lulling, amplified classical guitar was filling the streets, RIGHT beside him was a police van with multiple cops, stuffing a drunken and resistant, "down town hamilton" guy into it. It was just such a perfect soundtrack to such a violent scene.

He was playing "Lord of the Dance".

Dance then, wherever you may be
I am the Lord of the Dance, said He
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be
And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said He

beauty.

[LarsLarsen]

I should have started another thread on cop stories. I love hearing about your experiences with cops.

Whats the deal with new orleans? I thought they were fairly tolerant of street acts. I saw many musicians and fortune tellers, but no "danger" shows.

This is a fairly liberal city. Unless there is some kind of incident that causes trouble, they wont pass any laws banning something.

In the past they've banned bikes and skateboards from the pedestrian mall, as well as amplified music, although some people still get away with amps at a low volume.

Dont piss off the tourists, dont piss off the businesses, nobody will do anything. To quote a klingon proverb "No action happens without sufficient pain".