Minneapolis nixes anti-topless ordinance after police use DRONE to film nude sunbathers

Minneapolis has repealed a measure that barred women from going topless in city parks and beaches after police let slip they were using drones to spy on nude sunbathers – supposedly because of complaints about drinking and drugs.

The Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Department voted to roll back a ban on showing “female breasts” in city parks on Wednesday, condemning the “discriminatory” measure and bringing park rules into line with the laws that govern the rest of Minneapolis. Full nudity is still prohibited in parks, however – suggesting the creepy drone flyovers will continue.

Going topless was already legal outside parks, and the discrepancy in rules has caused significant grief for city women who prefer to sunbathe in the nude. This is especially the case at Twin Lake, a secluded enclave inside the city’s Theodore Wirth Park, which is locally – if not legally – considered a clothing-optional swimming spot. 

But on Friday, more than half a dozen police officers descended upon the beach and began writing up women based on “illegal activity seen on a drone,” an Instagram video posted by “kouturexkupcake” showed. The officers claimed the now-clothed sunbathers had been seen nude on the surveillance footage, even as the women repeatedly protested they were no longer topless and there was thus no grounds for ticketing them. 

When one of the women, who gave her name as “K. Hoefling” to the cops in the video, demanded to see the offending drone footage, an officer informed her she would need to file a Freedom of Information request, insisting the cops didn’t need consent to snoop on the unauthorized nude beach. 

“A man was assaulted here with a knife and a bat the other night,” another officer said as if to justify the somewhat absurd police presence, waving her finger in Hoefling’s face after she argued Twin Lake was a “peaceful place” and there was no reason to expend police resources filming skinny-dippers. Hoefling further protested that her friends were “the only black people here,” implying police’s decision to begin their ticketing spree with them was racist.

Golden Valley Police Department Detective Sergeant Randy Mahlen defended his officers’ actions to local media, claiming they had received over a dozen complaints over the past few months about nudity, alcohol and drug use at the beach. The drone, he said, “validate[d] all of these complaints we’ve been getting from residents,” likening it to “a surveillance camera in a public place for a high-crime area.” Previously, he explained, beachgoers had been able to cover up by the time cops arrived on the scene.

Mahlen added that the cops ultimately decided against ticketing any of the beachgoers, opting instead to leave as the situation was “escalating.” Under the new version of the ordinance, topless sunbathers will be able to enjoy the beach in peace – as long as they don’t mind airborne peeping Toms.

Like this story? Share it with a friend!