A South Florida city is trying to keep better tabs on outdoor homeless feedings with new regulations. The most recent attempt grabbed headlines when a 90-year-old in Ft. Lauderdale caught feeding the homeless was arrested.

Arnold Abbott is known in as "Chef Arnold" and has had several run-ins with police and given interviews about his encounters. Fort Lauderdale's Mayor Jack Seiler wanted to set the record straight. Seiler claimed:

    "At two recent outdoor food distributions, citations were rightly issued for non-compliance with the process enacted to ensure public health and safety. Contrary to what was reported in the media, no one was taken into custody."

PolitiFact Florida rated the claim MOSTLY TRUE. Writer Joshua Gillin said Seiler did have run-ins with police, but it wasn't typical to what many consider an arrest.

“Three times in the last couple of months, Mr. Abbott was given what’s called a notice to appear in court," Gillin said. "We talked to a few lawyers about that. That is a form of arrest, where the police say, ‘Stop doing what you’re doing, and you have to come to court and deal with it.’ But, that’s not quite what we think of when we hear arrest. That’s not quite what Mayor Seiler wants you to think either. He wasn’t handcuffed, he wasn’t put in a squad car. He wasn’t taken downtown and processed.”

Abbott had three run-ins with law enforcement tied to outdoor feedings between October and November. The 90-year-old runs an interfaith volunteer organization called Love Thy Neighbor. In 1999, city leaders tried and failed to ban him from holding picnics for the homeless at the beach.

More recently, the city commission approved an ordinance about outdoor food distribution. The ordinance requires sites to be 500 feet away from residential areas, have bathrooms or portable toilets, equipment for hand washing and conset of the owner. The rule does allow for indoor feedings at houses of worship.

In none of the three interactions with police was he handcuffed or taken to jail. Abbott's lawyer points out that while it wasn't a "custodial arrest", it still qualifies as one. Because of those facts, PolitiFact rated the claim MOSTLY TRUE.

SOURCES: ELDERLY MAN ARRESTED FOR FEEDING THE HOMELESS