City Code: 1085:0

Section 1085 - Loitering

Section 1085:00. Definitions. For the purpose of this Ordinance, the following terms, phrases, and words shall have the meaning given herein. The word 'shall" is mandatory and not merely directory.

Subd 1. Premises. For purposes of this section, premises shall include any house, yard, lot, parcel, sidewalk, boulevard, street, highway, alley, park, playground, restaurant, caf, church or other place of worship, school, any car or other motor vehicle, parking lot, drive-in, building used for public, business, commercial, or industrial purposes, washroom, apartment building and entryways and hallways located therein, or any other location whether public or private in the City of Owatonna.

Subd. 2. Loitering Defined. Whoever commits any of the following acts is guilty of loitering:

a. Lingering about the entryway of any public or private premises, or sitting or lingering upon the sidewalk, steps, windowsills, railing, fence, or parking area adjacent to any such premises in such a manner so as to obstruct or partially obstruct ingress to or egress from such building to the annoyance or inconvenience of owners, occupants, or entrants.

b. Lingering for any length of time upon any public or private premises or move in a slow and deliberate manner without purpose or otherwise interfere with, obstruct, or render dangerous or unreasonable for passage, any public highway, sidewalk, parking area, or right-of-way.

c. Remaining for more than five minutes on any public or private premises which are posted with a conspicuous sign containing the words 'No Loitering".

d. Lurking, loitering, or prowling in any place, at a time or in a manner not usual for law abiding individuals, under circumstances that warrant alarm for the safety of persons or property in the vicinity.

Section 1085:05. Warning - Exception. A person may not be arrested or convicted under Section 1085, Subd. 2 (a)-(c), until after a law enforcement officer has informed the person at least once in the previous 24 hour period that his or her action violates this Ordinance and has asked the person to move to a location, if one is available, that would not violate this Ordinance. It shall not be necessary to inform any person (1) who is charged under Section 1085:00, Subd. 2 (d); or (2) who has been convicted of a violation of this Ordinance within one year of the act complained of.

Section 1085:10. Loitering Circumstances Causing Alarm.

Subd. 1. Prohibition. A person shall not lurk, loiter, or prowl in any place, at a time or in a manner not usual for law abiding individuals, under circumstances that warrant alarm for the safety of persons or property in the vicinity.

a. 'Circumstances Causing Alarm." Among the circumstances that may be considered in determining whether alarm is warranted is the fact that the person takes flight upon the appearance of a police officer, refuses to identify him/herself, or endeavors to conceal him/herself or an object.

Subd. 2. Authority to Detain. A police officer may stop and briefly detain a person suspected of violating Subd. 1 if the person's behavior reasonably causes suspicion of criminal activity. The officer's reasonable suspicion must be based on objective, articulable facts and reasonable inferences drawn from all the circumstances surrounding the person's behavior.

Subd. 3. Opportunity to Dispel Alarm. Unless flight by the person or other circumstances make it impracticable, a police officer must, prior to any arrest for a violation of Subd. 1, allow the person an opportunity to dispel any alarm which would otherwise be warranted by requesting him/her to identify him/herself and explain his/her presence and conduct. The person may identify him/herself by presenting any of the following:

a. A state-issued identification card or driver's license containing the person's photograph.

b. An employer-issued identification card which verifies the person's employment and includes the person's photograph.

c. A currently valid passport.

d. A certified copy of the person's birth certificate; or

e. Verification of the persons' identity by another person who can establish his/her own identity by one of the documents listed above.

An explanation of the person's presence and conduct will be sufficient to dispel alarm if it shows that the person was engaging in and planning to continue engaging in, lawful activity consistent with his/her actions and all the circumstances surrounding his/her behavior.

Subd. 4. Requisites for Conviction. A person may not be convicted of a violation of Section 1085:10 if:

a. No police officer gave the person the opportunity provided in Subd. 3 to dispel the alarm created by his/her actions; or

b. The finder-of-fact determines that the police officer should have accepted the person's explanation as sufficient to dispel alarm.

Section 1085:15. Loitering - Intent to Commit Crime. A person shall not in any public or private place lurk, loiter, prowl, lie in wait, or be concealed with intent to commit any act prohibited by law.

Section 1085:20. Penalties.

Subd. 1. Petty Misdemeanor. Whoever commits any of the acts enumerated in Section 1085:00 or Section 1085:10 of this Ordinance is guilty of a petty misdemeanor.

Subd. 2. Misdemeanor. Whoever commits any of the following acts is guilty of a misdemeanor:

a. Loitering with intent to commit a crime as provided in Section 1085:15;

b. Any of the acts enumerated in this Ordinance within one year of being found guilty of any violation of this Ordinance; and

c. Failing or refusing to vacate or leave any premises after being requested or ordered, either orally or in writing to do so by the owner, agent, manager or person in charge thereof, or by any law enforcement officer or official or returning at any time thereafter to any such premises after having been so requested or ordered to vacate such premises.

Section 1085:25. Severability and Savings Clause. If any section or portion of this Ordinance shall be found unconstitutional or otherwise invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, that finding shall not serve as an invalidation or affect the validity and enforceability of any other section or provision of this Ordinance.

Section 1085:30. Penalty Definition. For purposes of this Ordinance, 'misdemeanor" shall be defined as defined in Minn. Stat. 609.02, Subd. 3, and 'petty misdemeanor" shall be defined as defined in Minn. Stat. 609.02, Subd. 4a.

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