TEMPE, Ariz. — A man who fed people experiencing homelessness at Tempe parks was arrested Friday for trespassing, according to the Tempe Police Department.
Austin Davis received numerous warnings and citations for trespassing at Moeur Park, the first on July 1 for being in the park after hours and being "verbally aggressive" with park rangers. Davis was banned from the park for 30 days after receiving the trespassing citations, police said.
Davis allegedly ignored the warnings and was seen at Moeur Park on July 3, July 6, July 7, July 23 and July 24, police said. He was arrested on July 26.
He had previously been banned from Papago Park for a year.
"Before his arrest Friday, he was given verbal reminders, multiple citations, and a one-year ban from the Papago Park Regional Area," the statement said. "He was also provided with a map that highlighted the area he could not visit."
Davis was booked into the Tempe jail. It is unclear if he has been released.
Picnic for homeless cause legal woes
On Sundays, Austin Davis set up food and water at Papago Park in Tempe for those experiencing homelessness. He picked Sundays for his picnics because he said he routinely heard that Sundays were hard for those who had fallen on hard times. They reminded them of dinners with their parents growing up. Davis decided to change that.
That landed him in court for hosting events without a permit.
Davis founded AZ Hugs when he was a student at ASU. He became aware of people experiencing homelessness in the city's riverbottom area.
City officials said they were getting complaints from neighbors about excessive trash and drug paraphernalia being left behind in the park following the picnics.
“All public open space used for events, whether hosted by a nonprofit organization, resident or business, requires a special event permit. No person or organization is above city code, regardless of the type of event being held,” said Greg Ruiz, interim deputy city manager over Community Health and Human Services, Tempe Police and Tempe Fire Medical Rescue.
In December of 2023, Davis applied for the permit. He was told he needed to stop his picnics during the review process.
“We just kind of had to make the decision, do we continue serving food? Do we not? And it was a really easy decision to make," Davis said.
He continued with the picnics and in January, he learned his application was denied.
At a court hearing in June, Davis alleged he received unfair treatment during the permitting process.
A city employee testified that she initially declined Davis' permit because it was incomplete. However, days later, someone from the city manager's office denied the permit application because Davis continued to hold his events.
The city employees from the permitting and special events department testified there was nothing unusual about their process.