Mendon “John John” Price appears in court
photo by Jessica Kramer
A wheelchair-bound man who police said had been labeled by the Chattanooga Visitors Bureau as “the number one enemy downtown” will serve 10 days in jail on a charge of aggressive panhandling.
Mendon “John John” Price appeared in court on Thursday to discuss his plea agreement with the state.
He will be turning himself into custody on June 20 to begin the jail time. Following this, his case will be dismissed.
Price has been the focus of some attention after his arrest in January, and some came to his defense. The Mercy Junction Justice and Peace Center and some local community members voiced their concern about the Visitors Bureau’s “criminalization of poverty.”
Price, who is restricted to a wheelchair due to the loss of one of his legs, was described by the Mercy Junction Justice and Peace Center’s Co-Director Beth Foster as “a gentle, respectful, and kind person.”
She said the charges against Price were “unfair and unfounded and using precious public resources that should be directed toward making our city a better place to live for all Chattanoogans.”
The Mercy Junction Justice and Peace Center demanded that the Chattanooga Visitors Bureau apologize for calling Price “the number one enemy downtown.”
“In a city filled with the violence of capitalism, racism and patriarchy, in a city where children are hungry and elders are homeless, the Visitors Bureau’s statement is deeply offensive on many levels, only one of which is signaling out a deeply loved member of our community—our differently-abled, wheelchair-bound brother, who has only one leg—as the enemy,” said Ms. Foster.
Chattanooga Organized for Action set up an online fundraiser to help pay for Price’s legal fees and court costs.