MI- Flint cops crack down on sagging pants

Indecent exposure (see inset) is MCL 750.335a and can be a listed sex offense: MCL 28.722 (e) "Listed offense" means any of the following: (iii) A violation of section 750.335a(2)(b) of the Michigan penal code, 1931 PA 328, MCL 750.335a, if that individual was previously convicted of violating section 335a of that act. Accordingly, can lead to being listed on the sex offender registry.

7-9-2008 Michigan:

Violators of ordinance could face fines -- even jail time

Flint residents now have to watch their butts because Police Chief David Dicks is on the lookout.

Dicks, who took over the department last month on an interim basis, announced that his officers would start arresting people wearing saggy pants that expose skivvies, boxer shorts or bare bottoms.

"Some people call it a fad," Dicks told the Free Press this week while patrolling the streets of Flint. "But I believe it's a national nuisance. It is indecent and thus it is indecent exposure, which has been on the books for years."

On June 27, the chief issued a departmental memorandum telling officers: "This immoral self expression goes beyond freedom of expression."

The crime, he says, is disorderly conduct or indecent exposure, both misdemeanors punishable by 93 days to a year in jail and/or fines up to $500.

Dicks, 41, broke down his interpretation of the laws as such: Pants pulled completely below the buttocks with underwear showing is disorderly conduct; saggy pants with skin of the buttocks showing is indecent exposure, and saggy pants, not completely below the buttocks, with underwear exposed results in a warning.

The American Civil Liberties Union is already scrutinizing the enforcement, something Dicks fully expected. But he said he's not backing down until the pants stop falling down.

Still, as of Tuesday, no one had been arrested for saggy pants.

"We want to put the word out before we take aggressive action," he said.

On Monday, a Free Press reporter and videographer rode with the chief as he confronted teens sporting the sag look. He issued verbal warnings to several people and said the style also gives police probable cause to search those wearing no-rise jeans.

As he drove through Flint's north and east sides, he flipped on the flashing lights of his departmental-issued Chevy Tahoe as he stopped a shirtless young man walking in the streets with saggy shorts and exposed boxers.

"Did you hear about the law?" the chief asked.

"I heard about it the other day," the man responded.

"I'm gonna issue a warning. I need you to get a belt because it's indecent exposure," the chief said to the twentysomething man on Delaware and N. Franklin.

During another stop, Dicks marveled at the steps a man took to wear his pants low.

"This guy had a belt on but he'd rather have his belt on around his thighs than above his waist," he said. "If no one tells him it's against the law, he'll never know."




Different opinions
Flint is often called one of the most violent cities in America, however in recent years, it has seen a drop in homicides.

A city of about 120,000, dwindling jobs and a dwindling population has left an aging, retired sector, older blue collar workers, a few middle-age professionals and youths. And depending on who you talk to about sagging, those within each generation don't necessarily put their pants on the same way.

"If I pay for my pants, I should be able to wear them how I want to," said 16-year-old Montez Phifer, taking a break from playing hoops in the city Monday. "Everyone thinks it's gangster, but it's a fashion. Nothing more."

His friend, Lorenzo Johnson, 14, said his mother warned him about the chief's stance on sagging.

"I pulled them up to respect her," he said. "When she left I pulled them back down."

Another friend Senita Abrams, 18, said: "I think it's cute when boys sag."

Down the street, 32-year-old Saneka Nichols weighed in.

"The sagging is out of control," she said. "It went from a style to a disruption. The chief has a good idea. I'm not saying people should go to jail, but maybe they should do community service.

"If you don't want to pick up your pants, pick up for the neighborhood. How's that sound?"

Greg Gibbs, a lawyer and chair of the ACLU Flint chapter, said the crackdown sounds like a "vast waste of resources."

"We are concerned that the enforcement of the chief's memo may lead to some constitutional violations on a case-by-case basis due to the failure of his memo to define what constitutes indecent exposure," Gibbs said. "From a First Amendment standpoint, I still have to crack the books to find out what the courts have said on this issue."

Flint's not the first city to take a look at policing the exposure of underwear. Pontiac, Auburn Hills, Atlanta and cities across the nation have debated the issue. But Dicks makes the assertion that wearing pants below the waist can give police probable cause to search saggers for other crimes, such as weapon and drug possession. He said because sagging is a crime, it presents probable cause for police to search saggers.

The sagging style
Dan Henson knows all about the style of sagging. He's a manager at Mr. Alan's clothing store in Hamtramck and a former sagger himself. He said customers frequently come in to buy large-fitting pants that sag.

"I stopped when I was around 21," he said of wearing his pants low. "But this style has been around for a long time. I think the rap videos and music industry have a lot to do with it. I don't think this style is going anywhere."

Michigan ACLU Executive Director Kary Moss said race could become an issue if the chief aggressively enforces the law.

"We will wait and see if this new policy is enforced before we decide to take action.," she said in a statement. "We will be concerned if the policy disproportionately affects African Americans."

Dicks also scoffed at any suggestions that any enforcement unfairly targets black men and teens.

"This is not a black issue. This is an issue that's all walks of life," said Dicks, who is black. "Many people from different ethnic backgrounds and races are doing this fad." ..News Source.. by BEN SCHMITT