Crazed Preacher

The flip side of freedom of religion is freedom FROM religion. I don't care who he is yelling about but I resent it being done in my ear
and the fact that he disrupts train service. He can worship Bill the Cat for all I care as long as he does it QUIETLY.

Here's the deal from officer's point of view: People have a right to express themselves under the First Amendment to the Constitution. They can stand on the corner and preach all day long about politics, religion or whatever without government intrusion so long as they don't trespass on another's property or block the free flow of traffic. Within the BART system this becomes a little more problematic. A person who is blocking access to entrances or exits or who creates a threat to public safety is subject to arrest or citation under 369(i) of the Penal Code. If someone such as the aforementioned preacher is riding trains and preaching out loud, the violation MAY be, Willfully Disturbing Others under 640(c) P.C. The officers, per direction of the Department, are not able to solely make the determination whether the suspect is willfully disturbing the victim. In order to cite, the officer needs the victim to sign a Citizens' Arrest charging the violation. Generally, the patron just wants the officer to "take him away" but does not want to step off the train and get involved with signing a complaint. As you can see, it is a complicated matter and not simply as easy as having an officer take a loud patron away. Believe me, the officers would like to remove a lot of trouble makers we contact on the trains. But misdemeanors or infractions not committed in our presence require a Citizens' Arrest in order for us to charge suspects. Are you willing to step off the train and be delayed 15-20 minutes to sign a form and give a statement?