Only In San Francisco: Cops Can’t Force Naked Men To Put On Clothes

On Black Friday, Rusty Mills and Lloyd Fishback stripped off all their clothes and headed down to Union Square with their genitalia flapping in the stiff winter wind. Mills wore only an Indian headdress and Fishback donned a pilgrim hat (Fishback says the hats tip off people that you’re intentionally nude, not insane). They’d come to amuse or shock the shoppers — depending on their sensibilities — and it wasn’t long until three cops rolled up responding to a woman’s complaint.

​But what happened next is what you could call an Only in San Francisco moment. Mills said two of the cops harangued them and threatened to arrest them if they saw them again. A third cop, who Mills recognized from patrolling the Castro, just told them to move on up the street. But none of the cops attempted to arrest the two.

In San Francisco, you can walk around nude on any day of the week on any street. Even if you’re arrested, you’ll probably be released after a couple of hours. Unless you’re in a city park or a place that serves alcohol, it simply is not illegal to be naked.

(http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2010/12/only_in_san_francisco_cops_can.php)