Prominent Street Preacher arrested for Street Preaching

We live in a country where the men of God were once revered by all. This is quite simply not misplaced reverence, but the respect they received was something that a lifetime of love and service to their perspective communities entitled them. Sadly these days’ men of God are not so much liked. Between the priests touching little boys, to the mega church pastors and televangelists embezzling money and having sorted affairs it seems just as hard to find a loyal, UN-corrupted man of God, as it is to find a stable, well-adjusted police officer, without a superiority complex.

That is exactly what I have found in Tatsuo Akamine. Here is a man who traveled to America from Japan after a near death experience “called” him to serve God. This man by all accounts is the real deal. He hits the streets EVERY day of his life to proclaim his faith. Having been formally a Buddhist, Akamine has kept the kind and gentle ways of his past and simply added direction to it. He is not rich. In fact he is quite poor. He relies on strangers to help him travel across the country and spread the message he feels compelled to spread. HE is so committed CBS news actually sought him out to get his story.
All of that faith did not protect him from an overzealous cop though. On February 25, 2015 a California Highway Patrol officer decided he did not like what Tatsuo was doing and decided to harass and arrest him.

The short of it is that on this day Tatsuo did what he always did. He picked a crowed place and began preaching the Bible there. He chose the public space outside the DMV in Torrance, CA. Where he was preaching from was a tax paid for, fully free space to anyone. Mr. Akamine was using a cheerleader cone to help his voice carry. There was no crime or permit required for this free activity. A permit would have only been required if he was using an amplifying device such as a megaphone.

The unidentified officer approached Tatsuo and immediately demanded he stop what he was doing and demanding ID. Tatsuo knew his rights and asserted them at this point, telling the officer that he had committed no crime and he has a First Amendment right to preach. Officer Bad Ass began trying to coax him over to his car away from the cameras but Tatsuo refused. Then officer tough guy tells him he is being detained for a crime and decides to use his super powers to manhandle this peaceful man under the guise of “officer safety”. He even kicks the preacher’s feet to get him to spread his legs for a search. Tatsuo didn’t budge and the officer could not handle his “authority” not being submitted to so he decides at to drag Tatsuo away in hand cuffs. If this is not scary enough, the coward even starts yelling at the man filming that he cannot follow “for his safety”. The encounter lasted only a few minutes but it completely shows this cop for what he is… A coward and a tyrant!
This video makes me so angry personally! Since the mainstream media didn’t report on this and it seemed to just go away pretty fast one can only assume the department dropped his charges quickly and made Tatsuo stay silent about what happened. The video speaks for itself though and once released it could not be taken down as a number of copies have circulated.

While looking for information on this story I came across a blog by a former cop turned preacher. His opinions were quite bias and even borderline delusional. At one point this clown even blames The street preacher for being arrested “for not cooperating with authority.” I consider people like this in the same category as the thieves that steal from the collection plate for their nice houses. Its guys like this that give Christians a bad name! Allow me to rant for a moment….

I have my own opinions personally about the church today. A lot of the reasons I am no longer there serving is because of the corruption and hypocrisy happening. I met some of the most Godly men behind bars and some of the most evil men behind a pulpit in a church. Let’s take a moment though and think about who Jesus was. He was a rebel. He was the first real anarchist. Jesus stood against the establishment and even at one point flipped over tables in a church and yelled at the leaders there saying “you have turned my father’s house into a den of thieves!” He was killed by the police of his time (roman soldiers) for daring to tell people to have faith in God and not the arrogant people that claim to represent God. My belief in this line of thinking didn’t make many friends in the church leadership despite my popularity with the congregation. I always said and still say “have faith in God not Gods people.” Don’t get me wrong I have strong faith to this day. In fact it’s that faith that allows me to stand with no fear for what is right. I relate a lot with this Tatsuo guy. I feel myself standing with him while he is arrested for his faith. Don’t worry guys you will never see me preaching in my articles because im done with that. My mission is much different today. I am here to bring the “Bad” police some much needed accountability. However I don’t hide what I believe or where I come from. In fact my sermons are still floating around online for anyone to listen to. I always had a non-status quo style. If men of God are not even safe from the police then I am surer than ever I am right where I need to be!

So rock on my Brother Tatsuo! Nothing they can do can ever truly hurt the message!! I stand with you 100% and respect any man that is ready and willing to truly stand for what they believe in!!