According to employees working at Jazz on Feb. 27, local bass-playing street musician icon Gerry Van King — aka the King of Sixth Street — was arrested by Austin police officers as he stood on restaurant property, where he has played almost nightly for the past 15 years. According to the King, the rap is bogus and APD Sgt. Mike Shane lied in his arresting statement. But this doesn’t exactly surprise him, he said, ‘cuz it ain’t the first time it’s happened. “They try to get me off the street during the money-making season,” he said. “New Year’s Eve, Mardi Gras, Columbus Day weekend — a three-day weekend. It’s their documented habit with me.”
According to Van King and various Jazz employees, on Thursday evening the bass player was in his usual spot, on private property, when several cops rolled by, taking pictures. Later on, sources said, they returned with “a posse” of cops, telling Van King he’d “been warned” about playing outside the restaurant before. They arrested him on a Class C misdemeanor charge of playing on the street without a permit, confiscating his bass and amplifier. According to Van King, Shane’s arresting statement says that the cop saw the musician on the north curb on the 200 block pointed toward oncoming traffic while playing and singing into a microphone, both plugged into an amp. Shane’s report says he asked for a permit and that Van King’s failure to produce one was in “direct violation of city of Austin ordinance.” However, according to both Van King and Jazz employees, the King was neither on the curb nor playing his bass. “And this stuff is in his sworn statement,” Van King said.
Fortunately, he said, the pictures taken earlier that evening should confirm his version of events and dispute the police account. “I’m not worried about [what the cop says] on the stand,” he said, “I’m worried about getting him to the stand. I want to get this thing going.” As of press time, neither APD Downtown area Cmdr. Harold Piatt nor APD representatives had returned calls from the Chronicle.
The King’s friends at Jazz say this is not the first time he has gotten crossways with the Sixth Street law, and Van King says he has complained to the City Council about harassment. Council Member Daryl Slusher said he thought Van King’s problems with APD had been cleared up; apparently not. The King is slated to address the council today (Thursday).
This article appears in March 7 • 2003.