Colorado Police Ask Fire-Juggling Unicyclist to Clear Intersection, Nicely
I’m a big fan of “busking” or performing on the street for tips. It is one of the most honest forms of art. And it gives us all a direct way to support art in our community. But I’m not for anyone hurling flaming projectiles in active traffic. And the police in Commerce City, Colorado, feel the same way.
The department posted drone footage of a man on a tall unicycle juggling flaming clubs on a crosswalk. It added, “Let’s all take a moment to appreciate this man’s talents.” It added that “we got numerous calls the other day when drivers were treated to a little stoplight entertainment courtesy of this fire-juggling unicyclist.”
There was only one problem: the sideshow was “quite illegal.” The street performer’s crimes included “trespassing in the median” and “impeding traffic by not vacating the crosswalk in time.”
How Colorado police handled the fire-juggling unicyclist
Police added that they didn’t ticket this particular performer. But they said, “Let’s all agree that we aren’t going to do stuff like this. Mmkay?” You can see the performance video embedded below:
Police departments walk a delicate line, protecting the rights of street performers with the proper licenses—and even panhandling in some municipalities—without interfering with folks’ day-to-day lives. In Commerce City, Colorado, the PD draws the line at interfering with roadways.
“We actually regularly do enforcement efforts at this intersection to ensure that pedestrians selling wares and services aren’t interfering with you and the roadway and it’s worked. We don’t often get reports like this anymore… well to be fair… we have NEVER gotten a report quite like this one.” — Commerce City PD
