CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Disclaimer: Some readers may find parts of this story disturbing.
People say using the bathroom in public has become a problem in Charlotte.
Many attribute the issue to a change in state law a couple of years ago that ultimately led to the decriminalization of several city ordinances. Soon, city leaders might change that.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police say unruly behaviors in the city extend beyond public defecation. City leaders have been speaking with officers and the community about issues impacting quality of life and may pass ordinances that will criminalize them again.
"These issues are happening across our city," Charlotte city council member Marjorie Molina said in the Housing and Safety Committee meeting Monday afternoon.
The committee discussed Monday how to combat several gross acts happening in public.
"Public urination and defecation has become an issue not just from our unhoused but our patrons of Uptown who may leave a bar in the middle of the night," CMPD Deputy Chief David Robinson explained to city leaders.
In 2021, the North Carolina General Assembly passed a law making all city and town ordinances non-criminal. However, municipalities reserved the power to reinstate chargeable offenses if leaders voted to do so.
Charlotte City Council recriminalized some things in 2022 but left out others – like public drinking, public defecation, and public masturbation.
Robinson described a recent disturbing situation that he said highlights this issue:
"Officers responded to a call at the 7th Street Market about a man who was clearly masturbating under his clothing as he began to corner a female employee inside the business. While he actively masturbated but did not meet the elements of indecent exposure, the action was not criminal."
Robinson said officers were not able to charge the man for the disturbing behavior because of the city ordinance. For any city ordinance that doesn't call for criminal charges, officers are only allowed to give civil citations for these violations and cannot arrest people.
"If we’re able to say that, 'Hey jail is on the table, an arrest is on the table,' we often times get compliance," Robinson said.
City leaders said they’re looking into changing the laws back to crack down on the behavior.
"We need to continue to approach this with the urgency that our constituents obviously expect of us," council member Tariq Bokhari said.
Once the council committee votes to move this issue forward, the full council will be able to propose amendments to city ordinances during a regular meeting. Per state law, the city council will need to wait until its next meeting after the proposals to vote on them.