Fla. Police Force Elderly Chef to 'Drop the Plate'

Serving food to the homeless is usually seen as an act of kindness, but in one Florida town, feeding the less fortunate could get you in trouble with the law.

Arnold Abbott is a 90-year-old chef in Fort Lauderdale. He's been feeding the homeless population in the south Florida city for decades.

But his good work has come to an end. A new city law makes it a crime to feed the homeless in public.

When Abbott recently violated the ordinance, he was arrested on the spot.

"One of the officers came over and said 'Drop that plate! Right now!' as though I was carrying a weapon," Abbott said.

Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler said the law is a matter of public safety. He said the homeless turn public spaces into open-air latrines.

"There are right ways to do it and wrong ways to do it," Seiler said. "We are simply asking that he does it in the right location."

Abbott started feeding the homeless as a tribute to his late wife and he says he won't be bound by red tape.

"These are the poorest of the poor," he said. "They have nothing. They don't have a roof over their heads and who could turn them away?"

Seiler said he wants to work with Abbott to figure out a better way for him to feed the city's homeless. But Abbott said he doesn't plan on changing the way he does things.