Tempe man arrested for feeding homeless people in parks

TEMPE, Arizona – A man who provided meals to the homeless in Tempe parks was arrested Friday for trespassing after he was asked to stop picnicking without a permit, Tempe police said.

Austin Davis received numerous warnings and tickets for trespassing at Moeur Park, the first on July 1, before he was arrested, police said in a statement. Davis was banned from the park for 30 days after receiving the tickets, police said.

Davis allegedly ignored the warnings and was seen in Moeur Park on July 3, 6, 7, 23 and 24, police said. He was arrested on July 26.

He had previously been banned from visiting Papago Park for a year.

“Prior to his arrest on Friday, he received verbal warnings, several summonses and a one-year ban from entering the Papago Park area,” the statement said. “He was also given a map marking the areas he was not allowed to visit.”

Davis was taken to the Tempe Jail. It is unclear if he has been released.

On Sundays, Austin Davis provided food and water for the homeless at Papago Park in Tempe. He chose Sundays for his picnics because he regularly heard that Sundays were hard for people in need. They reminded them of childhood dinners with their parents. Davis decided to change that.

This brought him to court because he organized events without permission.

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Davis founded AZ Hugs while studying at ASU after noticing the homelessness of people in the city’s river valley.

City officials said they had received complaints from neighbors about excessive trash and drug paraphernalia being left in the park after picnics.

“All public open spaces used for events require a special event permit, whether hosted by a nonprofit, local resident or business. No person or organization is above city regulations, regardless of the type of event,” said Greg Ruiz, city interim deputy director of Community Health and Human Services, Tempe Police and Tempe Fire Medical Rescue.

In December 2023, Davis applied for the permit. He was told he would have to stop his picnics during the review process.

“We just had to make a decision: Do we continue to serve food? Or not? And it was a really easy decision,” Davis said.

He continued with the picnics and learned in January that his application had been rejected.

At a court hearing in June, Davis claimed he was treated unfairly during the permitting process.

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A city employee testified that she initially denied Davis’ permit because it was incomplete. However, a few days later, someone in the city manager’s office denied the permit application because Davis continued to hold his events.

City officials in the permitting and special events department said there was nothing unusual about their actions.