On Monday night, at the direct request of the Ocean City Police Department, the Ocean City Town Council unanimously passed an "emergency ordinance" to change the punishment for possessing an open alcohol container in public from a municipal infraction to a misdemeanor offense.

The new ordinance, effective immediately, returns the town's laws to what they were before 2008, and gives police officers in the town the ability — though not the mandate — to arrest people drinking outside, according to Police Chief Bernadette DiPino.

In Ocean City, open beer in public now can lead to arrest - Baltimore Sun (http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-06-18/news/bs-md-oc-open-container-20120618_1_police-officers-law-enforcement-officers-ocean-city)

I always thought an open beer in public would get you a free ride to time out.

Don't ask me why I thought that.

State law trumps local laws, state law says "no drinking in public" shouldn't have been an issue in the first place??:buddies:

This is just a move to make some folks happy at the local level. No way they will strictly enforce it or the court and jail would be full.

I think it's more of an incentive to pay the citation instead of fighting it and risk a night in the pokey.

I think it gives cops a reason to lock you up, if they feel like it.

If you're being nice, and say "Oops, I didn't know"...more than likely you put the drink away, and that's that. If you're a drunken mess, stumbling down the street with a bottle in your hand...they can arrest you and send you to the drunk tank to sober up.

I think it gives cops a reason to lock you up, if they feel like it.

If you're being nice, and say "Oops, I didn't know"...more than likely you put the drink away, and that's that. If you're a drunken mess, stumbling down the street with a bottle in your hand...they can arrest you and send you to the drunk tank to sober up.

Sadly many of my fellow officers already have a "catch all" when it comes to needing a reason to lock someone up. It's called disorderly conduct and while I personally don't believe in using it willy nilly many do.

Sadly many of my fellow officers already have a "catch all" when it comes to needing a reason to lock someone up. It's called disorderly conduct and while I personally don't believe in using it willy nilly many do.

:buddies: