Category Archives: Bathrobespierre’s Broadsides Radio Show

Thoughts on Escalating Police Violence in Santa Cruz

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VIEW THE VIDEO AT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Tyj3yxwy-o.

> Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2013 06:02:51 -0700
> Subject: The Artificial Creation of Crime and For What?
> From: dbruceloisel@gmail.com
> To:
>
> The Artificial Creation of Crime and For What?
>
> April 25, 2013
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Tyj3yxwy-o
>
> The Artificial Creation of Crime and For What?
>
>
>
> Yesterday I watched the Youtube video of a drunk homeless man being
> accosted by law enforcement I couldn’t help wonder what other options
> could have been employed by the persons responsible for public safety
> (homeless persons are included under the definition of the “public”).
> Let’s explore the options: the police could have walked by, smiled and
> kept moving. This would be my favorite. They could have questioned the
> duo, and then moved on, realizing they were drunk and minding their
> own business and harmless – number two on my list. They could have
> arrested them and when they got belligerent, “tasered” them, saving
> the one guy from a potential brain damaging blow to the head from a
> cement collision and resolving the situation – not the best option
> but better than a hospital stay. Apparently this dangerous situation
> called for backup and a physical confrontation.
>
>
>
> According the Santa Cruz police department there were 3 homicides, 33
> rapes, 83 robberies, 313 aggravated assaults, 527 burglaries, 2792
> acts of larceny, 264 auto thefts and 21 acts of arson. That makes 11
> of these types of crime per day. So I am just wondering if police time
> could be better spent on these types of crimes. Sitting on a bench
> drunk didn’t make the list for 2012 but there will be at least one
> offence for 2013. The good news is the Santa Cruz police department
> has launched Twitter and Facebook Pages and has a Mobile App for
> iPhone and Droid!
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Back to the dynamic duo. So let me get this straight, there are two
> guys on a bench, drunk, but doing a whole lot of nothing, and not
> really in any condition to walk, let alone able to creating mayhem. So
> pretty much the sum total of their transgression is akin to speeding
> or jay walking – it appears to me these two guys were totally
> harmless…so, here’s the result, the police initiate a confrontation,
> then the situation escalates, the two become belligerent (they weren’t
> belligerent before the cops arrived, begging the question what’s the
> catalyst?). This results in a booking, hospital visit, jail time for
> one, costing the tax payers tens of thousands of dollars, issuing
> nuisance citations that will never be paid, generating arrest warrants
> (again costing more money), the officers will get paid 1.5 their pay
> for overtime and retire at 45 with a healthcare benefits and a
> generous pension…and the City of Santa Cruz gets sued into oblivion
> (again) by a smart young attorney …not to mention the guy got his
> face bashed in and potential brain damage and pain…and for what? Who
> wins here? The man was belligerent. Who gives a shit? My kids are
> belligerent and so are my employees. So what? Adults handle these
> situations with common sense. The new buzz issue these days is
> bullying, but this is worse than bullying, it’s brutality. The
> standard justification for acts like this is how hard the job of the
> police is – as if this justifies assault? Being a doctor is a hard
> job. Working in the fields is a hard job. Having a hard job doesn’t
> justify being an ass hole. This is crime creation, not law
> enforcement. And they could have just walked by.
>
> Posted by D. B. Loisel.NORSE’S NOTES:

Nicely put, Doug.

I wouldn’t suggest tasering,  which can also be lethal and tends to be misused as curbside punishment for less-than-swift-compliance.   But rather calling for a few more cops to help  move the guy into the squad car.

The new strategy seems to be to use fear and punishment if people don’t fully cooperate,  seems like.

I’m normally not a fan of megacopping on Pacific Avenue–I’ve seen half a dozen instances of it in two weeks around things like “leaning against the railing of the fence near the New Leaf Market”  (an incident involving Brent Adams and Officer Ahlers), 4 squad cars blocking traffic on the street while a fifth parks across the street (near community TV) to handle one drunk on the sidewalk who’s already handcuffed (and may have also been slammed down–I got their late and his face was bleeding).   Actually both these and a third happened on the same day–I witnessed the first, got a first hand account of the second, and a more distant account of the third–I think it was Friday April 5th.

Maybe there’s a “message” police are trying to send out to drunks similar to the message their vigilante cousins are sending out to homeless people:  “get out of town or get hurt”.   Just wonderin’.

Finally, the cops also often use this “drunk in public” charge to haul people in, seize their property, and sequester it for days–notably homeless people and their backpacks and blankets, when folks simply have an open container or are mildly buzzed and “have the wrong attitude”.  They are then held in a cell for a few hours and released in the cold wee hours without charges.

It looked like Richard Hardy–the name of the man assaulted by Officer Vasquez–was perhaps too drunk to take care of himself–the actual definition of drunk in public, rather than the police misusage above.  So perhaps he had justification, but what really tells is the subsequent behavior of the cops (“Are you all right, Richard?”) where they attempt to whitewash their brutality for the watching videocamera and the cover-up of the matter by the SCPD (not aware that Vasquez has been relieved of duty pending investigation).  Also with the Copley decision of a decade ago, there’s no public revelation of any disciplinary consequences unless someone leaks it.

Hardy, by the way, was reportedly released from Dominican yesterday, but I’m not sure if that’s because they’re cheap, or because he’s truly recovered.

The aggravated anti-homeless climate in Santa Cruz (I got another report yesterday of 4 guys jumping a man named Gabriel as he headed for Cabrillo College–which you  may have heard on the radio–report to be posted soon) is ramping up and solidifying this long-time police corruption.

I’m hoping to begin creating a video on-line library of such local incidents and turn them into a well-edited video that demonstrates both police brutality locally and the abusive anti-homeless laws to pass on the public in another of my (often seemingly ineffectual) Calls to Conscience.

Thanks for your analysis.

R

From: rnorse3@hotmail.com
To: compassionman@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: [huffsantacruz] Thoughts on Escalating Police Violence & in Santa Cruz
Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2013 21:05:28 -0700

Unless we’re talking some new laws, jaywalking doesn’t mean not crossing at a crosswalk, but crossing in a block between two stop lights or obstructing traffic.  Were you doing either?   What’s the ordinance they cited?

From: compassionman@hotmail.com
To: rnorse3@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: [huffsantacruz] Thoughts on Escalating Police Violence & in Santa Cruz
Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2013 10:33:21 -0700

11pm officers winston and “coffy”?.. in front of new leaf as they were scaring off drunken street performers.

I crossed a vacant well lit street to pass by them.  He recognized me from afar and said, “SIR!!  COME HERE NOW!!”
….. and asked me to produce my ID.   it was because i had crossed the street outside of the cross walk.

they both indicated that they knew about the police violence video.

From: rnorse3@hotmail.com
To: compassionman@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: [huffsantacruz] Thoughts on Escalating Police Violence & in Santa Cruz
Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2013 10:23:35 -0700

Thanks, Brent.  When and were did this happen–if you remember?  Any video or further commentary?  Number of officers involved, for instance.  Time of day, etc.  As well as the ultimate consequences (did the ticket show up in court?).

From: compassionman@hotmail.com
To: rnorse3@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: [huffsantacruz] Thoughts on Escalating Police Violence & in Santa Cruz
Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2013 10:21:05 -0700

i was given a ticket for Jay walking and officer Coffy tried to give me a ticket for an unregistered bike untilWinston told him that they don’t do that anymore because its illegal.

Video: Officer Vasquez slams drunk mans face to concrete

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Here is some video i took the other night.

At about 1am on april 22, 2013 I rode my bike past two guys sitting passively on a bench at night downtown. Then a cop stopped and one-thing-led-to-another and the officer hand cuffed one of them and “spun him” … slamming the mans face with great force into the sidewalk.

Two From Monterey County

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NOTES BY NORSE:  [See below]

Monterey City Council to look at homeless problem

440 homeless people are in Monterey, says a 2011 census
By LARRY PARSONS   Herald Staff Writer
Updated:   04/22/2013 11:31:16 PM PDT

Amid increased public outcry about the city’s homeless population, the Monterey City Council will hold an evening study session Wednesday on the subject.

A 13-page council report prepared for the session says a 2011 census counted 440 homeless people in Monterey. It cautions that homelessness, unlawful behavior and activities affecting health and safety “are not one in the same and cannot be addressed with the same tools and strategies.”

The council session comes in advance of a first-time, Peninsula-wide “Hungry and Homeless in Paradise” conference to be held May 18 at Monterey Peninsula College.

The council report breaks down different groups of homeless people, looks at different ways of addressing the complex issue, notes what the city already is doing, and says public complaints about transients are on the rise.

“Most causes of homelessness are outside the the control of government agencies,” the report says. “There are no easy answers or solutions, only good intentions, inadequate resources and growing frustrations.”

The homeless population comprises the “truly homeless” who have suffered severe economic setbacks, persons with substance-abuse, mental-health or other traumatic problems, and growing numbers of young “travelers” living nomadic lifestyles, the report says.

The city itself — with its moderate climate, seasonal visitors with disposable income and beaches, parks and greenbelts — are “reasons for the area’s attractiveness

for people experiencing homelessness.”

City officials receive complaints “on a daily basis” from residents, tourists and the business community about the growing numbers of homeless, the report says.

“They report seeing homeless persons sprawled on the sidewalks, urinating in public and acting intimidating,” the report says. Areas particularly impacted are downtown, Roberts Lake and the Garden Road, the report says.

In response, the city has created a temporary three-member police team to maintain a presence in the areas most affected. But city officials also have received complaints from the public about “criminalizing poverty” and targeting the homeless, the report says.

The city has ordinances against aggressive panhandling, loitering, littering, consuming alcohol in public, trespassing and other “health and safety” issues, the report says.

But other measures — overnight parking prohibitions in certain areas, expanded no-smoking laws and making it a crime to sit or lie on sidewalks or other public spaces — likely will be brought to the council, the report says.

This year, the city allocated $123,060 in community development grant money to 13 agencies serving the homeless. That’s 50percent below last year’s funding level because of the elimination of local redevelopment agencies, the report says.

The report lists about two dozen suggestions received by city officials to respond to homelessness. They range from increasing city contributions to business groups for security to licensing panhandlers.

NOTES BY NORSE:

“Most causes of homelessness are outside the the control of government agencies,” the report says. “There are no easy answers or solutions, only good intentions, inadequate resources and growing frustrations.”
Actually, the government has lots of control. Consider the police and judicial amputation of basic legal and human rights that homeless people suffer as a class, such as sleeping bans, bogus “public safety” curfews in public spaces, twenty-first century vagrancy laws (which were actually declared unconstitutional 30 years ago in the Lawson case). These are directly a result of local government action– responding to the agenda of their police department, developers, right-wing bigots, or a reactionary merchant association.
Instead of low-income campgrounds, bathroom facilities, and the obvious amenities of civilization which should be publicly available, there’s the “scare ’em out of town or lock ’em up mentality”. Today in Sacramento Assemblyman Tom Ammiano’s AB 5—the California Homeless Bill of Rights—comes up for an initial Judiary Committee vote. See http://wraphome.org/?p=2953&option=com_wordpress&Itemid=119 .
“In response, the city has created a temporary three-member police team to maintain a presence in the areas most affected.” A brilliant response to the “urination problem”. I guess public bathrooms are out. Exactly how many 24-hour bathrooms are there in Monterey, and where are they located?

Salinas restaurateur admits beating homeless man, will get nine years

Will get 9 years in prison for attack with bat

By JULIA REYNOLDS   Herald Staff Writer
Posted:   04/22/2013 09:02:19 PM PDT
Updated:   04/22/2013 11:11:11 PM PDT
Click photo to enlarge

Robert DeLeon Entered no contest plea after new witness to attack came forward

In a stunning mid-trial turnabout, a Salinas restaurant owner accused of beating a homeless man with a metal bat admitted to assault charges early Monday that will mean nine years in prison.

Halfway through a jury trial that included costly expert witnesses rendering opposing opinions, Robert DeLeon, 43, entered a no-contest plea to charges of assault with a deadly weapon and causing great bodily injury leading to a coma in an attack on Ramon Anderson in October.

DeLeon is co-owner of XL Grindhouse on Main Street near the National Steinbeck Center. Prosecutors said he admitted he inflicted injury that caused Ramon Anderson, 55, to “suffer brain injury resulting in a coma.”

An additional charge of attempted murder was dropped as part of the plea agreement.

The sudden change in the trial’s course came about in a matter of hours on Friday.

Prosecutor Steve Somers said Salinas police Det. Arlene Currier received a message Friday from someone suggesting she speak with a possible new witness in the case.

It was the same day DeLeon testified that he never beat Anderson with a bat, something his attorney has contended since the trial began one week ago.

DeLeon admitted a fight took place, but said he only used fists in self-defense.

Currier had no phone number for the new witness, Somers said Monday, but was told where she could find him. She did so, and obtained a recorded interview that told a very different story, one that matched versions given

by another witness and Anderson.

Anderson testified early in the trial that he suffers from schizophrenia and was sleeping behind the restaurant when a customer called police and he was asked to leave the premises. He said he did, but was later walking on the sidewalk in front of the establishment when DeLeon came outside and attacked him.

The new witness, a regular customer of the XL Grindhouse, told Currier that he was “sitting in the restaurant,” Somers said. “He saw the defendant hit (Anderson) with a bat three times in the head.”
During the fight, Somers said, “DeLeon lost control of the bat but continued to attack Mr. Anderson, punching him and stomping on his head as Anderson lay on the sidewalk in a fetal position.”

He said the witness told Currier that DeLeon came back inside the restaurant carrying the bat, then looked at the witness and angrily told him to be quiet.

Two days later, Anderson was flown to a trauma center and underwent surgery to relieve swelling in his brain, followed by weeks in hospitals and convalescent homes.

With another week of trial looming on Friday, Somers said he quickly sent the recording to DeLeon’s attorney Brian Worthington.

Before the night was over, a plea deal was forged, Somers said.

Somers said this was only the second time he has struck a deal halfway through a jury trial.

He said the witness told Currier he never came forward because he thought investigators already had enough evidence.

Worthington on Monday said he didn’t want to discuss witness allegations that are not in evidence, and said he stands by DeLeon’s testimony about not using a bat.

“He’s been consistent with that,” Worthington said. He said corroborating testimony by forensic pathologist Dr. Joseph Cohen about Anderson’s injuries “more than showed that wasn’t the case.”

He said DeLeon did admit in the plea deal to using a bat because the sentence would have been the same whatever weapon was used, and it was more important to get the attempted murder charge off the plate.
“It was a reasonable compromise,” Worthington said. “What really made us move forward with a plea was the (acknowledgement) that Mr. DeLeon had absolutely no intent to kill.”

Somers had another take. Somers felt it met the legal definition of attempted murder, “But it was a tough charge to prove.”

Overall, he said, the plea deal was “an appropriate result.”

DeLeon was facing 15 years in prison, Worthington said, but the deal now stipulates the nine-year sentence. State law requires that DeLeon serve at least 85 percent of the term, and the conviction will count as a strike under California’s three-strikes law.

He is scheduled to be sentenced June 21.

His brother James DeLeon was also originally charged in the assault. He was later sentenced to felony

probation after he admitted to being an accessory after the fact when he lied to police officers about the beating.

It is unclear what will happen to the XL Grindhouse’s beer and wine license, which state records show is held by a company run by both brothers.

California law says convicted felons cannot own liquor licenses unless they are deemed “rehabilitated” through a lengthy court procedure.

Julia Reynolds can be reached at 648-1187 or jreynolds@montereyherald.com

NOTES BY NORSE:
Perhaps De Leon can start a chapter of Take Back Monterey in jail and link up with the militant Take Back Santa Cruz [TBSC] organization up North.

Anti-homeless hysteria generated by TBSC has resulted in the closing down of the only Needle Exchange program located in the city. They’ve amped up “Reefer Madness” and stopped a 2nd medical marijuana facility from opening [See http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_23059432/santa-cruz-planners-consider-medical-marijuana-grow].

TBSC is pushing for more punitive police response, and recently sent a mob to pressure a local judge (successfully) into keeping an innocent man in jail (Ken Maffei) with the false charge that he stole flowers from a police memorial. See http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_22843345/charges-dismissed-against-man-accused-stealing-flowers-from .

Today the Santa Cruz City Council is considering an anti-homeless curfew on Cowell’s Beach–the first beach “forbidden zone at night” ever–after a Drug Warrior gang of hysterical residents mobbed City Council and prompted it to vote behind closed doors to shut down the only Needle Exchange in town.

California Homeless Bill of Rights Faces Committee Vote 4-23

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NOTE BY NORSE:   AB 5 comes up for a vote in the Judiciary Committee tomorrow.   A phone call (or an e-mail) to any of the below politico’s might help sway the tide.  I’m not terribly optimistic about the final shape this bill will emerge in, nor in its predecessor in Rhode Island (i.e. whether it’s actually helping homeless people on the grounds), but the continuing debate is important and the issue crucial.

PLEASE CALL OR E-MAIL STONE OR ANY OF THE OTHER REPS !

California Homeless Bill of Rights (AB 5) is set with our first hearing and we all need to ACT NOW!!!

♦ Bob Wieckowski, Chair (D, Alameda, Santa Clara) phone: 916-319-2025. fax: 916 319-2125. kevin.baker@asm.ca.gov
♦ Donald P. Wagner – Vice Chair (R, Orange) phone: 916-319-2068. fax: 916-319-2168. matt.hedges@asm.ca.gov
♦ Luis A. Alejo (D, Monterey, Santa Clara) phone: 916-319-2030. fax: 916-319-2130. tyler.blackney@asm.ca.gov
♦ Ed Chau(D, LA) phone: 916-319-2049. fax: 916-319-2149. edmond.cheung@asm.ca.gov
♦ Roger Dickinson (D, Sacramento, Yolo) phone: 916-319-2007.fax: 916-319-2109. elliot.cavnaugh@asm.ca.gov
♦ Cristina Garcia(D, LA) phone: 916-319-2058. fax: 916-319-2158. tim.reardon@asm.ca.gov
♦ Jeff Gorell, (R, Ventura County, LA County) phone: 916-319-2044 .fax: 916-319-2144. samuel.chung@asm.ca.gov
♦ Brian Maienschein (R, San Diego) phone: 916-319-2077. fax: 916-319-2177. matthew.easley@asm.ca.gov
♦ Al Muratsuchi (D, LA) phone: 916-319-2066. fax: 916-319-2166. brett.williams@asm.ca.gov
♦ Mark Stone (D, Santa Cruz, Monterey) phone: 916-319-2029. fax: 916-319-2129. rebecca.marcus@asm.ca.gov

Coming up Monday and Tuesday: Bill of Rights Hearings in Sacto

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NORSE’S NOTES:  Anyone in Santa Cruz interested in caravanning up to this event?  Come to the Keith McHenry presentation on Saturday April 20th at the Sub Rosa, and we can organize one.   Or give me a call at 831-423-4833.


State-wide Coalition converges on the Capitol on April 22 and 23 before Homeless Bill of Rights Hearing
Homeless communities, grassroots organizations, and advocates across the state join together to ensure the passage of the Homeless Person’s Bill of Rights and Fairness Act (AB 5) 
CONTACT:    Paula Lomazzi, SHOC Director   shoc_1@yahoo.com    916.862.8649                                                    
EVENTS:
Rally – North Steps of Capitol, April 22, 2:30 – 6 PM
Press Conference – North Steps Capitol, April 23, 7:30 or 8:15 AM
APRIL 12, 2013—Momentum for the Homeless Person’s Bill of Rights and Fairness Act is building steadily, with critical revisions to the proposed bill now complete and Judiciary Committee hearings scheduled for April 23rd.  Hundreds of homeless rights activists from across California will rally in Sacramento on April 22nd  
Assembly Bill 5 was introduced by Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco). “This bill,” he says, “is really about basic justice. People who are Homeless not only have to struggle with life on the street, they often have the indignity of being treated like criminals because they have nowhere to eat, sit, or sleep except in public. My bill is not about privilege. It’s about making sure they are treated equally before the law. I’m proud to be standing with, and for, anyone seeking justice.”
In a Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP) survey of 1,267 homeless people, 81% of participants reported that they were harassed by police for sleeping. In addition, 78% reported experiencing police harassment for sitting. Six hundred of these respondents were in California. Tickets for “status offenses” like sleeping or sitting often result in the arrest and imprisonment of homeless people.
 
With shelters filled to capacity and thousands of people on waiting lists for housing around the state, homeless people have no choice but to sleep, rest and eat in public places.Paula Lomazzi from Sacramento Homeless Organizing Committee said, “These are basic rights that allow all people to stay alive—things most of us get to take for granted, but which remain a daily challenge for many of the poorest members of our communities.”
 
“Laws that segregate, that make criminals of people based on their status rather than their behavior, or that prohibit certain people’s right to be in public spaces are not just sad relics from the past, ” says Paul Boden, Organizing Director of the Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP). “The California Homeless Bill of Rights is a response that will protect homeless people from discrimination and ensure their right to exist. This is not about special rights – this is about equal rights.”
Last year, Rhode Island became the first state to pass a statewide homeless people’s bill of rights. Building on the community organizing that led to this success, social justiceorganizations around the country have been working on bills that aim to protect the rights of homeless people. While the states of Vermont, Oregon, Connecticut and Missouri have already had bills introduced, California’s Bill – co-sponsored by the Western Regional Advocacy Project, Western Center on Law and Poverty, JERICHO: A Voice for Justice, and the East Bay Community law Center – is the first bill since Rhode Island’s to be heard in the state legislature. Judith Larson of Jericho said, “This is the essence of what Jericho was 
 
Sacramento Homeless Organizing Committee
P.O. Box 952, Sacramento, CA 95812
Phone and Fax: (916)442-2156
www.sacshoc.org – http://homeward.wikispaces.com/

Six Ticketed in Continuing Santa Cruz Sleep-Out

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http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2013/04/18/18735455.php?show_comments=1#18735481

by Robert Norse

Friday Apr 19th, 2013 11:39 AM

SIX TICKETED FOR SURVIVAL SLEEPING IN A VISIBLE SPOT
Zack, one of six people who, he says, slept at the post office steps area last night called in with a report a few minutes ago. They all received “camping” tickets for survival sleeping in a visible area. I call them the Visible Sleepers.He says some of the folks from the previous night left for the North, but they intend to continue their protest tonight and in the nights that follow.

COPS VIOLATING THE LAW?
He said several police arrived around 6 AM and did ask them if they had Homeless (Lack of) Service Center receipts, but ticketed them anyway with the Camping Ordinance MC 6.36. (subsection 6.36.010).

A key paragraph of 6.36.055(a), a key subsection of MC 6.36, reads
(a) A person shall not be in violation of this chapter [the Camping Ordinance] if, at the time of his or her citation for a violation of this chapter, either: the winter shelter at the Santa Cruz National Guard Armory is filled to capacity; or the person is currently on the waiting list for shelter service through one of the shelter programs offered by the Homeless Services Center or the River Street Shelter in Santa Cruz.”

The officers gave citations anyway in apparent violation of the law. They suggested the citations “might be dismissed in court.” Zack said the group explained they had nowhere to go, were told the shelters were full, were given a receipt by Christine Younger of the HLOSC so asserting (that is, they were put on the Waiting List), and had no legal place to sleep. Police then left, and they went back to sleep, Zack continued.

SIGNS OF THE TIMES
Some of the signs they were displaying read, according to Zack, “If every life has value, then why is our life illegal?”
“If safety is a priority in this community, why do we have to fight for a safe place to sleep?” “When you privatize public space, you silence the voice of the very community it was designed for.” “Any law against sleep is unjust.” And other signs as well. They can be viewed again tonight, presumably, when the protest is slated to resume.

Some locals suggested that to avoid tickets they could leave early in the morning, but Zack noted he told them that the point is we shouldn’t have to move since there is no legal place and we’re not doing anything illegal. First Alarm “security” thugs arrived after 8 AM and told them they’d have to lie outside their sleeping bags or be ticketed. Freedom initially declined, saying it was cold, but when another woman came up with a problem for First Alarm, she complied in order to facilitate First Alarm’s helping with that other problem.

DEFENDING FIRST ALARM THUGS
A police officer advised the group that First Alarm was “just doing their job; they are the middle men between business and the people.”

Zack concluded, “We’re not trying to incite any anger against us by the police. They spent a lot of time trying to justify what they were doing. They could have been out arresting violent criminals instead of explaining…cause we’re peaceful, and we need a place to sleep.”

Camping citations carry a potential fine of $100-200. As mentioned in a prior posting, interviews from last night’s Free Radio Santa Cruz show with Freedom, Andrew, and Cody are archived at http://www.radiolibre.org/brb/brb130418.mp3.

There will be a workshop tomorrow led by Food Not Bombs co-founder Keith McHenry around broader issues of homeless civil rights (the California Homeless Bill of Rights) and deeper issues of housing (foreclosures and occupying vacant buildings as Homes Not Jails does). At the Sub Rosa Cafe at 703 Pacific Ave. as mentioned above and described at http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2013/04/15/arm_the_homeless.pdf .

Four Flyers for Homeless Self-Defense in Santa Cruz

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http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2013/04/15/18735243.php

Four Flyers For Homeless Self-Defense
by Robert Norse ( rnorse3 [at] hotmail.com )
Monday Apr 15th, 2013 8:55 PM

The flyers are largely self-explanatory and suggest a number of avenues for self-defense for homeless people in Santa Cruz. Now that even the much-criticized and fractional Armory Winter Shelter program has ended. homeless people face not only police harassment during the day in parks, on the beaches, and downtown, but also at night under the city’s Sleeping Ban and possibly the state code 647e. HUFF (Homeless United for Friendship & Freedom) meets Wednesday at the regular time to continue discussing immediate survival camp prospects, copwatch, and thugwatch.

(Click on the link above for the flyers).

[SCPEL] Homelessness forum April 24 please come

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Santa Cruz Forums on Community Safety & Compassion
 
 

 

2nd Forum:  Homelessness and our Home Town
When:  Wednesday, April 24 at 7 PM
What:  Speakers and opportunity for Q&A
*Rev. Steve Defields-Gambrel, The Circle Church
*Susan Brutschy, President, Applied Survey Research, Homeless Census
*Christine Sippl, Program Manager, Homeless Persons Health Project
*Felipe Ponce, personal story
*Danny Contreras, personal story
Where:  Santa Cruz High School Theater
415 Walnut Ave., Santa Cruz
 
————————————————————————————————————————————————————
All Welcome!   Admission free.  
Donations welcome for hall rental.  FMI or childcare: contact 831-423-1626
 
 
Cosponsored by:

Resource Center for Nonviolence, NAACP Santa Cruz Branch, United Way of Santa Cruz County, Charter for Compassion, Santa Cruz Community Counseling Center, Homeless Services Center, Women’s Health Center, Community Action Board, The Circle Church, First Congregational Church of Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Friends Meeting, Peoples’ Democratic Club, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom

State-wide Coalition Converges on the Capitol 4/22 and 4/23 for Homeless Bill of Rights hearing

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NOTE BY NORSE:  Santa Cruz really needs some constitutional counteraction against its own Downtown Ordinances.  For a toxic selection of these nasty ordinances see “Deadly Downtown Ordinances–Updated” at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/08/29/18657087.php.

As homeless people are increasingly caught up in a bogus “Public Security” crackdown involving private security thugs harassing the homeless around city hall, the library, the levee, and in the Pogonip, documenting these abuses with video and audio–and posting the accounts becomes increasingly important.  A good place to post is www.indybay.org/santacruz .  Plus you-tube, of course.

A reminder to HUFF members and other interested folks that Keith McHenry, co-founder of Food Not Bombs, will be returning to Santa Cruz on Saturday to give a workshop/forum on the California Homeless Bill of Rights, creating a Homes Not Jails locally,  and other activist civil rights issues impacting those outside.  See http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2013/04/15/arm_the_homeless.pdf .

Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2013 08:59:35 -0700
From: shoc_1@yahoo.com
Subject: State-wide Coalition Converges on the Capitol 4/22 and 4/23 for Homeless Bill of Rights hearing
To: shoc_1@yahoo.com
CC: pboden@wraphome.org

State-wide Coalition converges on the Capitol on April 22 and 23 before Homeless Bill of Rights Hearing
 
Homeless communities, grassroots organizations, and advocates across the state join together to ensure the passage of the Homeless Person’s Bill of Rights and Fairness Act (AB 5) 
 
CONTACT:                                                   
Paula Lomazzi, SHOC Director
shoc_1@yahoo.com                                         
916.862.8649                                                    
EVENTS:
Rally – North Steps of Capitol, April 22, 2:30 – 6 PM
Press Conference – North Steps Capitol, April 23, 7:30 or 8:15 AM

APRIL 12, 2013—Momentum for the Homeless Person’s Bill of Rights and Fairness Act is building steadily, with critical revisions to the proposed bill now complete and Judiciary Committee hearings scheduled for April 23rd.  Hundreds of homeless rights activists from across California will rally in Sacramento on April 22nd
Assembly Bill 5 was introduced by Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco). “This bill,” he says, “is really about basic justice. People who are Homeless not only have to struggle with life on the street, they often have the indignity of being treated like criminals because they have nowhere to eat, sit, or sleep except in public. My bill is not about privilege. It’s about making sure they are treated equally before the law. I’m proud to be standing with, and for, anyone seeking justice.”
In a Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP) survey of 1,267 homeless people, 81% of participants reported that they were harassed by police for sleeping. In addition, 78% reported experiencing police harassment for sitting. Six hundred of these respondents were in California. Tickets for “status offenses” like sleeping or sitting often result in the arrest and imprisonment of homeless people.
With shelters filled to capacity and thousands of people on waiting lists for housing around the state, homeless people have no choice but to sleep, rest and eat in public places. Paula Lomazzi from Sacramento Homeless Organizing Committee said, “These are basic rights that allow all people to stay alive—things most of us get to take for granted, but which remain a daily challenge for many of the poorest members of our communities.”
“Laws that segregate, that make criminals of people based on their status rather than their behavior, or that prohibit certain people’s right to be in public spaces are not just sad relics from the past, ” says Paul Boden, Organizing Director of the Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP). “The California Homeless Bill of Rights is a response that will protect homeless people from discrimination and ensure their right to exist. This is not about special rights – this is about equal rights.”

Last year, Rhode Island became the first state to pass a statewide homeless people’s bill of rights. Building on the community organizing that led to this success, social justice organizations around the country have been working on bills that aim to protect the rights of homeless people. While the states of Vermont, Oregon, Connecticut and Missouri have already had bills introduced, California’s Bill – co-sponsored by the Western Regional Advocacy Project, Western Center on Law and Poverty, JERICHO: A Voice for Justice, and the East Bay Community law Center – is the first bill since Rhode Island’s to be heard in the state legislature. Judith Larson of Jericho said, “This is the essence of what Jericho was

Sacramento Homeless Organizing Committee
P.O. Box 952, Sacramento, CA 95812
Phone and Fax: (916)442-2156
www.sacshoc.org – http://homeward.wikispaces.com

Updates from Santa Cruz Sleeper Struggle

Posted on by
The following notes are from a thread on what I term the Visible Sleepers protest which happened in front of the post office last night.

by Robert Norse

Thursday Apr 18th, 2013 8:26 AM

According to Sonny in a phone conversation, the group spent the night peacefully, moved from the steps so they could be swept by a postal official, and had a polite encounter with three cops who neither ticketed them nor asked them to move from their new spot on the sidewalk. Reportedly, they plan to continue their protest through the day with signs educating the community about the Sleeping Ban.

Brent Adams has created a great video (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBWhgjXrKaY) pressing for a Sanctuary Camp. My own conversations with local homeless people on Pacific Avenue last night indicated that they were generally supportive of the Visible Sleepers, though not willing to risk harassment, citation, or arrest themselves.

I was also glad to see Food Not Bombs activists there supporting the Sleepers. The issues involved are basic and important ones in a city with no shelter for 95% of its homeless.

I’ll be playing interviews tonight on Free Radio Santa Cruz from 6-8 PM at 101.3 FM (streams at http://tunein.com/radio/FRSC-s47254/). Feel free to call in with your thoughts at 831-427-3772.

I encourage all homeless people to sign up for the Waiting List at the Paul Lee Loft at 115 Coral St. so that their camping tickets will be dismissed under MC 6.36.055.

MC 6.36.055 reads
(a) A person shall not be in violation of this chapter [the Camping Ordinance] if, at the time of his or her citation for a violation of this chapter, either: the winter shelter at the Santa Cruz National Guard Armory is filled to capacity; or the person is currently on the waiting list for shelter service through one of the shelter programs offered by the Homeless Services Center or the River Street Shelter in Santa Cruz.
(b) Any citation issued for a violation of this chapter shall be dismissed by the city attorney in the interest of justice if, at the time of citation issuance, the winter shelter at the Santa Cruz National Guard Armory is filled to capacity or the recipient of the citation demonstrates that on the date of the citation he or she was currently on the waiting list for shelter service through one of the shelter programs offered by the Homeless Services Center or the River Street Shelter in Santa Cruz.

A discussion of the California Homeless Bill of Rights will be held at 2 PM Saturday at the Sub Rosa Cafe with Keith McHenry a featured speaker. See http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2013/04/15/arm_the_homeless.pdf.

I encourage folks to support the protesters with blankets, food, dialogue, and calls to City Hall demanding lifting the police harassment and Sleeping Ban citations and/or providing a safe place to sleep as an emergency measure whether in a parking garage, a campground, or somewhere else. Call 831-420-5020. E-mail them at citycouncil [at] cityofsantacruz.com . But don’t hold your breath.

The following entry is from Gary Johnson, whom I term “Ground Zero” Gary, sentenced to two years suspended sentence for sleeping three nights on a bench in front of the County building with a “sleep is not a crime” sign.  His point was the First Amendment right to be present in peaceful protest outside the County Building after the County had declared a “protesters-and-homeless-begone”  7 PM – 7 AM curfew (which is still in effect).

Conflicted.

by G

Thursday Apr 18th, 2013 12:26 PM

It’s sad to hear that HUFF isn’t active in Oakland, or some other #TentCity (although that initiative seems to have fallen flat, maybe the AdBusters crowd ain’t what it used to be), and is using others to make legal challenges. Can’t help but wonder about yet more hug trolling.

It is nice to hear about the sanctuary camp. I think that is desperately needed. When sound governance doesn’t exist, replace it, at all scales. Hopefully the sanctuary will be inclusive, although their ‘taint’ framing in the other article here makes me wonder about their agenda, smells kinda like TBSC.

It is nice to hear that this sleep protest has a legal strategy. Getting paperwork from the ‘shelter’ could be effective in court, neutering yet another bogus ‘coulda shoulda’ persecutorial attack on the necessity defense. I wonder if making officers aware, daily, via photocopies of the ‘shelter is full’ notes would help others that might be ticketed on any given evening. If officers won’t receive the paperwork, as is often the case (they seem to be afraid of the legal implications of being given written notice), perhaps a trip to their office would help.

I wish I could be there. If I was there, I would be sleeping there. Sadly, until the existing cases are resolved, ANY accusations (real or made up) could reactivate my 2 years suspended sentence (for peacefully protesting the criminalization of sleep and the criminalization of protest itself). Not that I am afraid of doing the time (the next time around I would try to emulate @rabite’s media presence); it just seems wasteful, at least until redress has been exhausted.

Some advice. Record every encounter with law enforcement, document everything immediately (multiple online sources), avoid a 24 hour presence (neuter yet another time/place/manner persecutorial attack), keep the area clean, don’t antagonize pedestrians or postal staff, expect a rapid response (if I recall correctly, there was an 8 month protest there until the Postmaster signed over enforcement to non-federal gangsters), have relocation plans ready, be prepared to do jail support, avoid hugging Norse.

http://PeaceCamp2010insider.blogspot.com/

Since the Homeless (Lack of) Services doesn’t have them…

by Robert Norse

Thursday Apr 18th, 2013 3:05 PM

…here’s the HUFF receipt! We thoughtfully provided it to HLOSC yesterday to document the fact that the group we brought over to Coral St. to register was on the Waiting List. Hence their camping tickets, if they were given any, would be dismissed prior to court (even without having to mount a Necessity Defense).

Activists and homeless sleepers should note that police can still charge people under PC 647e, the state “anti-lodging”” law (actually being used by sheriff and police as an anti-protest or anti-loitering law in the last few years). However, the documentation that one is on the Waiting List is also a good basis for mounting an affirmative Necessity Defense if D.A. Bob Lee wants to take any such charges through to jury trial.

Hopefully such trials would have a better outcome than those of the Peace Camp 2010 activists, who got screwed thanks to testimony from Executive Director Monica Martinez and others that there were a few spare beds (for the 1000+ homeless outside). The Jones decision–which I’m told by San Luis Obispo attorney Stu Jenkins is still federal legal precedent in spite of being depublished–held in L.A. that one doesn’t have to establish there were no beds that night or that one even tried to get one, if it was common knowledge that finding such a bed was highly unlikely given the chronic shelter emergency.

I should add I don’t recommend these programs or shelters, as Razor Ray seems to imply. Rather I suggest this Waiting List approach as both a protest strategy and to protect yourself legally as a homeless person who has to sleep at night who’s completely uninvolved in protest. Given the legal system the way it is, this approach is my suggestion.

I suggest bringing a copy of the receipt template with you to the HLOSC, and then making a second copy for yourself (so that you can give one to the cop). The cop may not (and probably will not) initially stop ticketing, but in future legal action it will become clear that police ticketing in the face of these receipts is a form of harassment since tickets are to be automatically dismissed under MC 6.36.055.

More of this thread (some of it contentious) can be found at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2013/04/17/18735380.php?show_comments=1#18735440 .