The State Attorney's Office has dropped all charges against Chris Young, the Occupy Sarasota activist arrested for writing chalk slogans on the sidewalk in Five Points Park in February.
Almost immediately after the charges were dismissed, Sarasota attorney Andrea Mogensen notified the city that Young intended to sue the Police Department for violating Young's civil rights.
Sarasota Police officer John Neri arrested Young February 25 on charges of trespass, obstructing an officer, impeding pedestrian traffic and tampering with city property. The arrest came as Young and a handful of other activists were writing political slogans on sidewalks; Young was the only person arrested.
Young, 40, a disabled Iraq war veteran whose disability is not service-related, was handcuffed, taken to jail and released after posting bail.
He wasn't an activist nor he was he with Occupy Sarasota. He was just a dude who saw others doing it so he left his own message.
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