Akron Mayor Emeritus Don Plusquellic was warned by Akron University Police after being caught urinating on a tree, the Akron Beacon Journal reported Thursday. Plusquellic was rude to officers and told them he “’knew we didn’t do anything and figured he would give us something to do on a slow night,’” the report elaborates . . .
It also cites police saying the former mayor received the same treatment from them as they would visit on any citizen, while not explaining why being verbally respectfulness of police after urinating near downtown Akron at midnight next to his rental car would not be subjected to further testing. Besides, the contention that we could all expect the same leniency and discretion is not exactly true.
“Since October, police have charged seven people with littering for relieving themselves in public,” the Associated Press reported in a story written during Plesquellic’s tenure as mayor. “Littering is a third-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.”
Plusquellic, a Democrat, was an enthusiastic member of Michael Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns.
“As a mayor charged with ensuring public safety and protecting the streets of my community, I am proud to join the fight to reduce gun violence – not just in Ohio, but also across the country,” he told a “No More Names” rally in 2013. “It’s time for Congress to put politics aside and pass common-sense gun safety measures – like comprehensive and enforceable background checks – that will keep guns out of the wrong hands and help save lives.”
Also attending the rally was Plusquellic’s approved successor to the office of mayor, then-City Council President Garry Moneypenny, a Democrat who resigned earlier this year after only 10 days in office because of “inappropriate contact he had with a female city employee.”
Plusquellic and Moneypenny have been succeeded by Interim Mayor Jeff Fusco, another Democrat and another big Bloomberg supporter.
Incidentally, I was at that rally, and wrote about it at the time. It was part of a stealth bus tour the Bloombergians were conducting, where they wouldn’t pre-announce the stops out of fear that pro-gun rights activists would then show up and outnumber them. That almost happened that time, and peaceable gun owners, many openly-carrying arms, counter-demonstrated on the corner.
None of the armed activists were hurt. The same could not be said for the man found beaten to death at that same Akron park a year later.