City of Coldwater, MI Peace Disturbances and Disorderly Conduct

PUBLIC PLACE — Means a place to which the public or a substantial group of person has access. Among places included are any:

Highway, street, road, alley, sidewalk, park, parking lot, river, public water, waterfront or other publicly owned or controlled open ground;

Publicly owned or controlled building, excluding any interior portion thereof being used as a dwelling;

Place of business;

Place of amusement, entertainment, recreation or education open to the general public;

Place where services are rendered to the public or a substantial group of persons;

Transport facility;

Public conveyance;

Place of religious worship;

Place of manufacturing;

Railroad right of way;

Hospital;

Cemetery;

Common area of any hotel or apartment building;

Private meeting place when a privately employed special-duty police officer, special-duty deputy sheriff or a special police officer or deputy sheriff is on duty there;

Grounds appurtenant to any of the above designated; or

Parking facility used in connection with any of the above designated.

The foregoing enumeration shall be deemed partial and shall not operate to exclude other places which are within the general terms of this definition.

LOITERING — Means:

To stand or lounge around or move slowly about, to spend time idly, to saunter or to linger; or

To repeatedly pass the same place without any apparent reason.

(b)

Causing or risking public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm. No person shall purposely cause, recklessly create a risk of or knowingly contribute to inconvenience, annoyance or alarm to any person in a public place by:

Engaging in fighting or threatening, or in violent or tumultuous behavior;

Jostling or roughly crowding persons unnecessarily;

Making unreasonable noise or offensively coarse utterances, gestures or displays, or addressing abusive language to any person or group present in a manner intended to or likely to provoke a response;

(4)

Creating a hazardous or physically offensive condition by any act which serves no legitimate purpose of the actor;

(5)

Creating an undue interference with permissible uses and activities; or

(6)

Using fixtures, places or equipment in a manner not intended for use.

(c)

Failure or refusal to disperse upon official order. When any person is participating in a course of conduct described in subsection (b) hereof, which is likely to cause substantial harm or serious inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, a peace officer may order the participant and others in the immediate vicinity to disperse. No person shall refuse or knowingly fail to obey such an order.

(d)

Failure or refusal to move from public hazards. No person in dangerous proximity to a fire or other hazard shall refuse or knowingly fail to obey a reasonable official request or order to move for the purpose of maintaining public safety.

(e)

Prowling or loitering.

No person shall prowl or loiter, on foot, in a motor vehicle or in any other way, in a place, at a time or in a manner not usual for law-abiding individuals, under circumstances that warrant alarm for the safety or health of any person or property in the vicinity.

Unless flight by the person or other circumstances make it impracticable, a peace officer shall, prior to an arrest for an offense under this section, afford the person an opportunity to dispel any alarm which would otherwise be warranted, by requesting him or her to identify himself or herself and explain his or her presence or conduct. Action taken by the person to dispel the alarm shall not serve as a basis for a violation of this subsection, unless such action is unnecessary to dispel the alarm.

Among the circumstances which may be considered in determining whether such alarm is warranted is the fact that the person:

Takes flight upon the appearance of or investigation by a peace officer;

Refuses or fails to adequately identify himself or herself; or

Manifestly endeavors to conceal himself or herself or any object.

This enumeration shall be deemed partial and shall not operate to exclude other circumstances which are within the general terms of paragraph (e)(1) hereof.

(f)

(Reserved)[1]

[1]

Editor's Note: Former Subsection (f), Public intoxication, was repealed 6-10-1996 by Ord. No. 532.

(g)

Malicious destruction of property. No person shall maliciously destroy or injure any public property or any private property not his or her own.

(h)

Assault and assault and battery. No person shall commit an assault or an assault and battery.

(i)

Harassing, alarming or offensive conduct. No person shall, with purpose to harass or alarm another, or with reckless disregard of the sensibilities of another:

Insult, taunt or challenge another in a manner likely to provoke a violent disorderly response;

Frighten or attempt to frighten another by threat or menace of unlawful bodily harm to any person;

Subject another to an offensive touching;

(4)

Commit any lewd, obscene, immoral or indecent act which he or she knows is likely to be observed by another who would be affronted or alarmed thereby;

(5)

Make a communication anonymously, in person, telephonically or electronically, or do any of the above at extremely inconvenient hours or in offensively coarse language; or

(6)

Engage in any other course of harassing, alarming or offensive conduct serving no legitimate purpose of the actor.

(j)

Window peeping. No person shall engage in window peeping.

(k)

Aggressive or fraudulent begging. No person shall loiter, or shall go about from door to door of private homes or commercial and business establishments, or shall place himself in or upon any public way or public place, to beg or receive alms for himself if that conduct includes one or more of the following aggressive manners of begging or receiving alms:

[Amended 12-14-2015 by Ord. No. 791]

Touching the solicited person without that person's consent;

Blocking the path of the person being solicited or blocking the entrance to any building or vehicle;

Following behind, alongside, or ahead of a person who walks away from the solicitor after having been solicited;

(4)

Using threatening language, either during the solicitation or following a refusal to donate, or making any statement, gesture or other communication that would cause a reasonable person to make a donation out of fear or duress;

(5)

Using false or fraudulent information or representations to solicit donations.

(l)

Breach of peace. No person shall make or assist in making any noise, disturbance, trouble or improper diversion, or any rout or riot, by which the peace and good order of the City will be disturbed.

(m)

Illegal business or occupation. No person shall:

Engage in any illegal business or occupation; or

Attend or frequent any place in which an illegal business is conducted or permitted.

(n)

Consumption of alcoholic beverages prohibited in certain places; exceptions:

[Amended 6-14-2021 by Ord. No. 847]

No person shall consume any alcoholic beverage in:

Any publicly owned or controlled ground or building, excluding the interior portion of any such building being used as a dwelling;

Any transport facility or public conveyance; or

Any parking lot, cemetery or railroad right-of-way.

Exceptions.

Persons of legal age may consume alcoholic beverages as specifically allowed by the City Council in conjunction with a special event application made to the state for a permit or license to serve alcoholic beverages at an allowed time in an allowed location.

Persons of legal age may consume alcoholic beverages purchased from a qualified licensee with permits issued by the state and the City as part of a social district in a commons area of a social district as established by the City Council under the authority of MCL 436.1551 in full compliance with the hours established and posted thereon.

Penalty for specified violations of Subsection (n)(2)B. Persons who violate the preceding Subsection (n)(2)B hereof by consuming alcoholic beverages in a designated commons area of a social district outside of the hours as established by the City Council and posted may be issued a municipal civil infraction citation, as set forth in § 211.01(e) of the Codified Ordinances of the City. A civil fine shall be imposed upon a person found responsible for a violation of the hours of operation referenced in Subsection (n)(2)B hereof as follows:

For a first violation, in the sum of $25, plus costs.

For a second violation within a ten-day period, in the sum of $50, plus costs.

For a third and subsequent violation within a ten-day period, in the sum of $100, plus costs.

§ 660.03 Disorderly conduct on school premises; authority of principal.

[Ord. No. 289, passed 6-22-1970]

No person shall create a disturbance or engage in any immoral or indecent conduct in any private, public or parochial school building or on any school ground. Any person who is on the grounds of a private, public or parochial school, or in a building thereof, shall leave when requested to do so by the principal, assistant principal or other person responsible for the building, without the necessity of reasons being assigned for such request to leave.

§ 660.04 Sound systems in motor vehicles.

[Ord. No. 658, passed 10-14-2002; Ord. No. 678, passed 12-8-2003]

(a)

No person operating or in control of a parked or moving motor vehicle, including a motorcycle or moped, shall operate or permit the operation of an electronically-amplified sound system in or about the vehicle so as to produce sound that is clearly audible at a distance of 50 feet from the vehicle between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m., or clearly audible at a distance of 25 feet from the vehicle between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.

(b)

A person who violates this section may be issued a Municipal Civil Infraction citation, as set forth in Section 211.01(e) of the Codified Ordinances of the City.

(c)

A civil fine shall be imposed upon a person found responsible for a violation hereof as follows:

For the first violation, in the sum of $25, plus costs;

For the second violation, in the sum of $50, plus costs;