Wednesday morning, on the sidewalks around Cottage Hospital on Nogales Avenue, three men dressed in dark clothing, one masked, armed with tripods and cameras were reportedly harassing members of the public by recording videos, shouting profanity, and threatening identity theft, according to sources at the scene.
Engaged in what is called “First Amendment auditing,” the trio, including two who later identified themselves as Mr. Dick Fitzwell and Mr. Hill, succeeded in having bystanders call 9-1-1. Santa Barbara Police Department officers and security personnel for nearby businesses responded, arriving around 10 a.m. The men had remained on public property and were not targeting specific individuals, Lieutenant Antonio Montojo said, and no arrests were warranted. Montojo, who was on watch command duty for SBPD, said the “auditors” were not associated with law enforcement, and were trying to provoke a response from people to get them to call 9-1-1.
The three “identified themselves as First Amendment auditors” to responding officers, said Sergeant Bryan Kerr, a spokesperson for SBPD…