Homeless Houston Veteran Cited for Dumpster Diving in Search for Food [Listen]

By Brandon De Hoyos, Morning Online Editor



Scouring for his next meal in a dumpster downtown, a homeless man is ticketed by Houston Police. Now, opponents point to the citation as validation of arguments against the city’s homeless feeding ordinance.

NEWS 92 FM’s Norm Uhl has more:

Cited for “disturbing the contents of a garbage can in downtown central business district,” the 44-year-old Caucasian man is known only as K.J., in a redacted ticket issued by police the morning of March 7.

But now, he is quickly becoming a symbol of how the city’s 2012 feeding ordinance victimizes the poor, says Joe Ablaza, an opponent of the policy.

K.J. is a homeless veteran forced to dumpster dive for food where he once relied on the kindness of strangers. And now, even that source of food is in jeopardy, he says.

Update: James Kelly Talks Exclusively with NEWS 92 FM’s Danny Mata