Today: Protest New Anti-Homeless Law and Urban Assault Vehicle

 

PROTEST CITY HALL TODAY TO DEMAND:
No Worsened Banishment Law for the Homeless in Santa Cruz!
Repeal Approval of the Cop’s New Urban Assault Vehicle!
Repeal All Anti-Homeless Laws!

January 13th, 2015
Meet at the Santa Cruz City Council
809 Center Street, Santa Cruz CA

Today’s Protest Schedule

Some people will be gathering at city hall at 2 PM and there will probably be food present.

Around 2:30 people will go into city hall to speak out against new decorum rules being set up by the city council to curtail free speech.

SPEAK OUT:  At 5 PM people are encouraged to enter city council chambers to speak out against the city council’s approval of the new heavily armored BEARCAT urban assault vehicle and against police brutality and anti-homeless laws.
Around 7:30 PM or thereabouts (come earlier to be sure) the city council is scheduled to approve its new banishment law against the homeless.  People are encouraged to get up a speak out against the law in city council chambers.

For a description of issues at stake, see:

Protest Shuts Down City Council, Urban Assault Vehicle Approved, Anti-Homeless Law Delayed
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/12/10/18765377.php

To sign up for the event on Facebook, go to:
https://www.facebook.com/events/377910239000830/

Also see:

Murderous Cops, Liberal Snake Oil, & Revolutionary Solutions
http://boston.indymedia.org/newswire/display/222482/index.php

A Day and Night of Protest at City Hall: January 23rd in Santa Cruz

 

Title: Protests Galore on Another Terrible Tuesday
START DATE: Tuesday January 13
TIME: 2:00 PM – 2:00 AM
Location Details:
809 Center St.
Santa Cruz City Hall
Event Type: Protest
A series of protests is slated for this Tuesday.

2 PM Before City Council opens, folks will gather in front of the chambers to conduct their own speak-out linking up the various issues: militarization of the police, crackdown at City Council, and exponentially heightened harassment of the homeless.

2:45 PM Approximate time for the Dreadful Decorum Dictates to come up on City Council. These are described at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2015/01/09/18766602.php (“Council Armors Up”). The anti-BEARCAT protest will also begin around 3 PM (See “PROTEST NEW ANTI-HOMELESS LAW AND URBAN ASSAULT VEHICLE” at http://www.facebook.com/events/377910239000830/ & “Free Santa Cruz” at http://www.facebook.com/events/327222137463931/).

4:45 PM Rally before 5 PM Oral Communications where each will be allowed 2-3 minutes, likely to be heavily filled with community members outraged at the Council’s December 9th rubberstamping of the BEARCAT armored personnel ‘rescue’ vehicle.

7:30 PM or thereabouts (come earlier to be sure). The latest terror tactics designed to frighten away homeless people with the threat of jail if they return to park areas after being given infraction tickets for life-sustaining behavior such as sleeping.
See “Stay Away Stupidity…” at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/11/24/18764553.php

The new wording of the ordinance is at http://scsire.cityofsantacruz.com/sirepub/cache/2/e5y2okfjeqxksdpkhmfsya0i/396073312092014110820380.PDF . Or go to http://scsire.cityofsantacruz.com/sirepub/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=574&doctype=AGENDA and click on item #18.

10 PM (or whenever the Council meeting ends into the evening) Speak out and possible Sleep-out at City Hall. City hall grounds unconstitutionally close to the public at night, so the assembly may happen on the sidewalk.

Bring video, warm blankets and sleeping bags, thermos of coffee, vehicles to stay warm in, tents, and friends and whatever else occurs to you.

The protest will last as long as folks choose to stay.

The homeless right to sleep, rest, stand, sit, and otherwise engage in standard human behaviors in public spaces is under serious assault–both with the Stay-Away orders and the escalation of Sleeping Ban and other harassment citations.

As winter continues, there are no reliable regular warming centers. All we can see is massive increase in abusive policing–even as the nationwide anger against police violence grows.

Silence kills.

Continuing Correspondence With Don Lane on the “Decorum” Rules

 

Thanks Robert
I look forward to hearing your comments at the council meeting.
I have forwarded your PRA request on to Nydia for formal processing– and I can tell you that I have no documents along the lines you requested.  I have this information filed in my own memory: that when you and your proxies have been sitting adjacent to the lectern I have seen many community speakers show very visible concern about people sitting in that spot and on several occasions I have seen people flinch or recoil as you move toward or handle your recording device near the lectern.  I know how committed you are to community participation at council meetings so I hope you will support eliminating one impediment to that participation.
Thanks for considering.
Don

Don Lane
Mayor

City of Santa Cruz

 

Don:

I’m still trying to understand why you support the “unattended audio devices” rule at all.   That was the first question I asked you.

What purpose does it serve?  Can you cite any disruptions caused by my regular recording over the last dozen years?

As you know,  the rule was unenforced for 13 years until a singularly repressive and anti-homeless Mayor took power.  I have been a homeless advocate and strong Council critique for nearly three decades, and I think it’s pretty clear this “rule” targets my radio work.  Do you deny this?

You note some find it uncomfortable to have me sitting near the podium.  I did too. It’s awkward to have to guard my recorder throughout the meeting.  And should be unnecessary, as well.   I wouldn’t have been up there at all, except an armed police officer kept shutting off my “unattended” recorder and outrageously confiscating it. That was after I was falsely arrested on April 1st.

I found it sad that you neither objected to the arrest or the subsequent confiscations, nor took action to stop it when you had the power as acting Mayor.  This kind of behavior by the Council is petty and unnecessary.

It’s also unprecedented.  Can you cite any other local legislative body that requires you to “sit next to your recorder or risk having it confiscated” or requires it to be placed in a special zone?

It seems to me a rather arrogant and pointless assertion of authority for its own sake.

Your proposed “permission zone” for recording devices runs afoul of  the basic First Amendment right of any member of the public, and particularly a reporter, to record–even if they step away from their machine to read an agenda, chat with a friend, use the restroom, or take a break outside.

How does the placement of a small inconspicuous device actually disrupt the meeting?

As I mentioned before, I’d be happy to make any reasonable accommodation.  How about it?

As I advised Mayor Robinson, I’d be happy to be careful not to interfere with others at the podium–as I have been throughout the years–in recording.  Wouldn’t this satisfy your concerns?   In this case no furniture, signs, additional  recorder “attendants” would be necessary.

I know how committed you are to community participation and media access at Council meetings, so I hope you will restore what has been a problem-free arrangement for the last decade or more.

Let me know.   While there are far more important matters we are both concerned about, the issue of media access is an important one to me.

Robert

P.S.  I’m also concerned with your new definition of “disruption” which seems to ignore the court case which the City lost when the 9th Circuit clarified that “disruption” means real disruption not  simply a rule violation.  Has there been some more recent court decision changing this?

Letter & Public Records Act Demand to Santa Cruz Mayor on the Stay-Away Order Law Inbox x

 

Don:

I suggest you withdraw your proposed decorum amendments and simply remove the“unattended audio devices” ‘rule’ entirely. It has never prompted any disruption at City Council other than that evoked by the Mayor.

I also suggest withdrawing the stuff about “obstructing aisles” and “furniture” since those issues would be gone once you remove the “unattended audio devices”. It’s pretty clear that this is a direct attempt to maintain a rule without good reason.

Or perhaps you have a reason for making it a potential crime to leave an “unattended audio device”? I’d be interested in knowing your reasoning.

I also recommend withdrawing your new definition of “disruption” as being “when a mayor insists on imposing a rule and has to stop the meeting to do so”. It flies in the face of the 9th Circuit’s opinion in my case that “disruption” means disruption, not imagined disruption, or the violation of some rule.

Responding to legitimate protest with harsher restrictions is in my view unwise and will ultimately cost the city administration as well as the rest of us. 

Please postpone Council consideration of these changes until you sit down with some of the activists to discuss your specific concerns and how they can be equitably met.

I would hope we could discuss this matter and come up with a solution that meets everyone’s concerns. I think that would save all of us lots of time and trouble.

Robert

P.S. In the meantime please make available any documents that involve complaints, concerns, or documents regarding the new decorum rule changes you’re proposing. This would include any documents referencing obstructing city council aisles, furniture, recording devices in the chamber, and/or concerns about Council “disruption”.

New Mayor Responds to Public Outrage With Crackdown Measures

 

Council Armors Up
by Robert Norse
Friday Jan 9th, 2015 8:56 AM

City Council (through Mayor Don Lane) and the City Administration behind it (i.e. the Martin Bernal, the City Manager, and his staff) will be voting on more repressive decorum rules as the first order of business in the afternoon session of the January 13th City Council meeting this Tuesday. This is apparently their response to the public outrage at the December 9th meeting over the SCPD’s sneak rush of the quarter-of-a-million-buck BEARCAT armored personnel “rescue’ vehicle. Lane has also placed the wildly-unconstitutional and explosive Stay-Away law to the end of the evening agenda.

I suspect the decorum change and Stay-Away order scheduling at the end of the meeting  are specifically designed to shrink, cool, and discourage protest.

The staff report and other documents regarding the decorum rule changes are attached and also available on the City’s website at http://scsire.cityofsantacruz.com/sirepub/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=622&doctype=AGENDA under Item #12.

Scheduled protests:

Stop the Bearcat at 2 PM http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2015/01/03/18766326.php
Protest New Anti-Homeless Law and Urban Assault Vehicle at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/12/13/18765514.php
A HUFF (Homeless United for Friendship & Freedom) protest at times to be announced.

The City has also adopted a new, less publicly accessible means, of responding to Public Records Act requests. The SCPD no longer takes such requests directly, but routes them through Nydia Patino at City Hall. More importantly, the requests are being responded to in hard copy letters (usually rejection or restriction) from the City Attorney’s answer.

It has still not responded to my request of weeks ago to see documentation that confirms the exact date and the real deadline for accepting the BEARCAT vehicle.

§The Councilmember’s Handbook as Lane Would Like It

by Robert Norse Friday Jan 9th, 2015 8:56 AM

Lane has given no explanation as to why leaving an “unattended” recording device creates any problem. So if you sit in your seat and want to leave it turned on, that would be cause for Council harassment if no one is “attending” it unless you put it in a special spot.

His new definition of “disruption” is “whenever a rule is broken and a Mayor is ‘forced’ to stop the meeting”. So whenever a Mayor disrupts his own meeting, this becomes the fault of the public. So, if you turn your back on the Council while speaking and there’s a rule against doing so (which there arguably now is–that’s an additional change), you are “disrupting” the meeting. This flies in the face of the 9th Circuit Court ruling that states a “disruption” can only be an actual disruption not a potential one or one created by the Council’s have a “hissy fit”.

§Current Rules

by Robert Norse Friday Jan 9th, 2015 8:56 AM

Bad enough as they are–as folks attending the December 9th meeting saw and experienced.

§Resolution Amending the Current Rules

by Robert Norse Friday Jan 9th, 2015 8:56 AM

The technical resolution that changes the rules, I presume.

§Proposed Escalated Stay-Away Order Law

by Robert Norse Friday Jan 9th, 2015 8:56 AM

Somewhere between 500 and 1500 people have already gotten one-day Stay-Away orders. They will be subject to the week, month, 6 month, and year orders in ever-expanding areas. Careful examination of the infraction tickets given with these orders show they are overwhelming used to punish sleeping, camping, simply being in a closed area, or smoking. It also seems they are overwhelmingly being given to homeless people.

§Current Law

by Robert Norse Friday Jan 9th, 2015 8:56 AM

The current Parks and Recreation laws allow designation of “closed areas” at any time at the whim Parks and Recs Czarina Dannettee Shoemaker. They also prescribe a high penalty for violating the “Stay Away” orders (up to a year in jail and $1000 fine).

Continue reading

SCPD Stonewalling & Cold Weather Callousness at HUFF Meet 11 AM 1-7 Wed Sub Rosa

Downing cups of hot fluid to stay awake and comfy, we’ll be engaging in the usual circular firing squad activity with your suggestions and some of these on the agenda:  Prep for the 2 PM  Cop Corner Protest Demanding an End to Racial and Homeless Profiling in Santa Cruz; Confronting New Stonewalling by the City on Public Records; First Reports on Downtown Performance Pens; Prep for the Upcoming First City Council Meeting of the Year.

Come if you can.  Help from a distance if you can’t.

Return Engagement at Cop Corner

“Homeless People Matter” Protest Gets Honks, Volunteers, at Cop Corner
by Robert Norse
Monday Dec 22nd, 2014 12:57 PM

Following up on concerns about SCPD racial and homeless profiling (where groups are targeted or selectively ticketed) Cafe HUFF returned to Laurel and Center Streets right outside the police parking lot Wednesday afternoon (12-17). Numerous new and young faces joined the familiar HUFF regulars to hold up signs, give out flyers, offer brownies and coffee passersby, and gather signatures. Additional concerns of the protesters were the slippery process used to acquire the “Bearcat” armored personel “rescue” vehicle and SCPD’s withholding of when, where, and by whom it used tasers, batons, choke holds, and other such tactic. In the wake of Ferguson, our purpose was to focus on specific local concerns that seemed missing from larger protests.

CORNERING COP ABUSE AT COP CORNER
The 2 1/2 hour vigil began under cloudy skies with a few of us, a small table, and a handful of signs. It ultimately grew to 15 people holding placards, giving interviews, rushing out to vehicles to provide literature, and sharing Cafe HUFF coffee and chips.

This was our third HUFF (Homeless United for Friendship and Freedom) protest at Cop Corner urging the community to compel police transparency and accountability. See “Race andClass Bias in the SCPD: What’s the Real Story?” at http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2014/12/03/grand_jury_protest_updated.pdf .

Two European musicians, several traveler guitarists, and singer Briana Brewer provided nearly continuous music. As the afternoon progressed, more and more cars honked approval or showed “thumbs up” to our cries of “Black People Matter!” “Homeless People Matter” “Don’t Shoot! and other chants that have become standard in protests stemming from the murder of Mike Brown and others by police departments across the country.

Several raggedy wayfarers took the opportunity to lay down their backpacks and go to sleep on the sidewalk in the shadow of the protest. Signs and literature urged an end to the perpetual police assault on homeless people through such laws as the City’s Sleeping Ban, the Mathews-Terazzas “Stay-Away” orders, and the pressure against the outdoor poor in the Pogonip, downtown, and in the parks.

BEARCAT BUFFOONERY
Also at issue and more recently in the public eye was Homeland Security’s latest Xmas toy to our urban para-military–the BearCat armored personnel vehicle. More horrifically known as the Ballistic Engineered Armored Response Counter Attack Truck, this acquisition and City Council’s police-fluffing procedures on December 9th prompted the first time a Mayor recessed a meeting under fire in nearly two decades. Brent Adams video and unanswered questions by activists sent to Mayor Lane are posted at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/12/16/18765662.php .

Free Radio broadcaster and researcher John Malkin will be replaying his discussion of the issue with John Sandidge and Mayor Don Lane on Wednesday 12-24 at 7 PM on freakradio.org (101.3 FM).

“Keeping Up the Pressure: Wednesday Protest at Cop Corner” at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/12/13/18765489.php describes some of the broader issues some HUFF activists are pressing for, in addition to blocking the armored personnel “rescue” vehicle.

WITHHOLD “USE OF FORCE” REPORTS
In early July, I formally requested where, when, by whom, against whom, and why “use of force” was reported.

After a delay of several weeks to a previous Public Records Act demand, Drechsler declined to release any documents (as required by law) but did provide the following summary:

“Types of Force Number of Uses
Taser 39
Baton 4
Hands 6
Elbow 3
Knee 2
OC 1
[No information was provided regarding when officers drew or used their guns]”

After some back and forth and a delay of many months, the SCPD records worker Jacqui Drechsler released an uninformative summary of 5 police reports–none of them providing relevant information. We haven’t yet asked about injuries and hospitalizations. A follow-up request asking for the specific reasons for withholding the information has not yet been answered.

PROTESTS CONTINUE ACROSS THE COUNTRY
Democracy Now! reported today: “Protests against police brutality and racial profiling continued in New York City over the weekend, with actions including a sit-in at Brooklyn’s Atlantic Center Mall on Saturday and a silent march in Harlem on Sunday.

“More than 1,500 demonstrators shut down Minnesota’s Mall of America for several hours on Saturday afternoon calling for justice in the cases of Eric Garner and Michael Brown. At least 25 people were arrested.

“One day earlier, dozens of protesters were arrested in Milwaukee after blocking traffic on a major highway for over an hour. The action centered on the case of Dontre Hamilton, an unarmed mentally disabled black man shot dead during a confrontation with a police officer on April 30. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has called up the National Guard to be on standby.

It’s important that Santa Cruz police accountability activists intensify their local focus and extend solidarity to activists fighting similar issues across the country. Though mainstream media is now dripping with apologies, excuses, and sympathy for police and the officials who love them, the upsurge of outrage is continuing. Please post any upcoming actions, new research, or individual experiences—video is particularly helpful.

OFFICER AZUA’S CITATIONS REQUESTED

A Public Records Act request has secured Officer Azua’s citation and arrest record. Unfortunately (and curiously) racial stats were omitted.

Because the SCPD has not (so far) provided summaries of citations issued by race, it will be necessary to handcheck and handcount all citations issued by Azua. In the case of Officer Barnett it became clear that he gave out 7 times as many citations to black community members than would have been expected from their representation in the community. See “No Ferguson in Santa Cruz: Stop Local Racial and Class Profiling” at http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2014/10/21/barnett_cites_–homeless.pdf

Prior HUFF protests have not noticeably altered the SCPD’s support for Barnett, but have raised awareness. See”HUFF Releases Evidence of SCPD Profiling, Joins National Police Brutality Protests” at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/10/23/18763218.php .

BARNETT’S HOMELESS BASHING

An earlier protest secured the release of Barnett’s citations for public viewing. See “Protesters Demand Faster Response from SCPD Regarding Records Requests” at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/09/23/18761997.php .

That protest and research at the SCPD revealed the massive disparity of citations given by Officer Barnett to homeless people (“transient” or 115 Coral St. addresses) versus those given to others for such “crimes” as “smoking in a no smoking zone”, “trespass in a public parking lot”, “panhandling” & “sitting within 14′ of a building”. See “Report from Cop Corner” at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/09/17/18761766.php .

Audio from the 12-17 protest will be played on Free Radio 12-25 6-8 PM (at 101.3 FM, freakradio.org) and archived at http://radiolibre.org/brb/brb141225.mp3 .

 

Continue reading

HUFF withdraws to the Bagelry 320 Cedar St. for 12-24 meeting 11 AM

The ever-methodical (if manic) HUFF meeting will move for this Wednesday only to the nearby Bagelry as the Sub Rosa will not be open on that day.

Upcoming on the HUFF agenda tomorrow at the Baglery:  Follow-Up on the Cop Corner protest, given the upcoming Bullies for Bearcat Protest  Happening at City Council;  DIY New Year’s Eve parade prep;   researching Azua’s racial record, a report of cloths-snatching by the SCPD and Sheriffs, protest against the absurdly limited propery reclamation hours at the SCPD?, “Steady Hand” Steve’s Update from the National Law Center On Homelessness and Poverty, organizing at the HLOSC’s Xmas meal Thursday…and whatever else tickles our fancies.

You supply the bodies and brains.  We supply bagels and coffee. 

Return Engagement at Cop Corner

“Homeless People Matter” Protest Gets Honks, Volunteers, at Cop Corner
by Robert Norse
Monday Dec 22nd, 2014 12:57 PM

Following up on concerns about SCPD racial and homeless profiling (where groups are targeted or selectively ticketed) Cafe HUFF returned to Laurel and Center Streets right outside the police parking lot Wednesday afternoon (12-17). Numerous new and young faces joined the familiar HUFF regulars to hold up signs, give out flyers, offer brownies and coffee passersby, and gather signatures. Additional concerns of the protesters were the slippery process used to acquire the “Bearcat” armored personel “rescue” vehicle and SCPD’s withholding of when, where, and by whom it used tasers, batons, choke holds, and other such tactic. In the wake of Ferguson, our purpose was to focus on specific local concerns that seemed missing from larger protests.

CORNERING COP ABUSE AT COP CORNER
The 2 1/2 hour vigil began under cloudy skies with a few of us, a small table, and a handful of signs. It ultimately grew to 15 people holding placards, giving interviews, rushing out to vehicles to provide literature, and sharing Cafe HUFF coffee and chips.

This was our third HUFF (Homeless United for Friendship and Freedom) protest at Cop Corner urging the community to compel police transparency and accountability. See “Race andClass Bias in the SCPD: What’s the Real Story?” at http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2014/12/03/grand_jury_protest_updated.pdf .

Two European musicians, several traveler guitarists, and singer Briana Brewer provided nearly continuous music. As the afternoon progressed, more and more cars honked approval or showed “thumbs up” to our cries of “Black People Matter!” “Homeless People Matter” “Don’t Shoot! and other chants that have become standard in protests stemming from the murder of Mike Brown and others by police departments across the country.

Several raggedy wayfarers took the opportunity to lay down their backpacks and go to sleep on the sidewalk in the shadow of the protest. Signs and literature urged an end to the perpetual police assault on homeless people through such laws as the City’s Sleeping Ban, the Mathews-Terazzas “Stay-Away” orders, and the pressure against the outdoor poor in the Pogonip, downtown, and in the parks.

BEARCAT BUFFOONERY
Also at issue and more recently in the public eye was Homeland Security’s latest Xmas toy to our urban para-military–the BearCat armored personnel vehicle. More horrifically known as the Ballistic Engineered Armored Response Counter Attack Truck, this acquisition and City Council’s police-fluffing procedures on December 9th prompted the first time a Mayor recessed a meeting under fire in nearly two decades. Brent Adams video and unanswered questions by activists sent to Mayor Lane are posted at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/12/16/18765662.php .

Free Radio broadcaster and researcher John Malkin will be replaying his discussion of the issue with John Sandidge and Mayor Don Lane on Wednesday 12-24 at 7 PM on freakradio.org (101.3 FM).

“Keeping Up the Pressure: Wednesday Protest at Cop Corner” at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/12/13/18765489.php describes some of the broader issues some HUFF activists are pressing for, in addition to blocking the armored personnel “rescue” vehicle.

WITHHOLD “USE OF FORCE” REPORTS
In early July, I formally requested where, when, by whom, against whom, and why “use of force” was reported.

After a delay of several weeks to a previous Public Records Act demand, Drechsler declined to release any documents (as required by law) but did provide the following summary:

“Types of Force Number of Uses
Taser 39
Baton 4
Hands 6
Elbow 3
Knee 2
OC 1
[No information was provided regarding when officers drew or used their guns]”

After some back and forth and a delay of many months, the SCPD records worker Jacqui Drechsler released an uninformative summary of 5 police reports–none of them providing relevant information. We haven’t yet asked about injuries and hospitalizations. A follow-up request asking for the specific reasons for withholding the information has not yet been answered.

PROTESTS CONTINUE ACROSS THE COUNTRY
Democracy Now! reported today: “Protests against police brutality and racial profiling continued in New York City over the weekend, with actions including a sit-in at Brooklyn’s Atlantic Center Mall on Saturday and a silent march in Harlem on Sunday.

“More than 1,500 demonstrators shut down Minnesota’s Mall of America for several hours on Saturday afternoon calling for justice in the cases of Eric Garner and Michael Brown. At least 25 people were arrested.

“One day earlier, dozens of protesters were arrested in Milwaukee after blocking traffic on a major highway for over an hour. The action centered on the case of Dontre Hamilton, an unarmed mentally disabled black man shot dead during a confrontation with a police officer on April 30. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has called up the National Guard to be on standby.

It’s important that Santa Cruz police accountability activists intensify their local focus and extend solidarity to activists fighting similar issues across the country. Though mainstream media is now dripping with apologies, excuses, and sympathy for police and the officials who love them, the upsurge of outrage is continuing. Please post any upcoming actions, new research, or individual experiences—video is particularly helpful.

OFFICER AZUA’S CITATIONS REQUESTED

A Public Records Act request has secured Officer Azua’s citation and arrest record. Unfortunately (and curiously) racial stats were omitted.

Because the SCPD has not (so far) provided summaries of citations issued by race, it will be necessary to handcheck and handcount all citations issued by Azua. In the case of Officer Barnett it became clear that he gave out 7 times as many citations to black community members than would have been expected from their representation in the community. See “No Ferguson in Santa Cruz: Stop Local Racial and Class Profiling” at http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2014/10/21/barnett_cites_–homeless.pdf

Prior HUFF protests have not noticeably altered the SCPD’s support for Barnett, but have raised awareness. See”HUFF Releases Evidence of SCPD Profiling, Joins National Police Brutality Protests” at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/10/23/18763218.php .

BARNETT’S HOMELESS BASHING

An earlier protest secured the release of Barnett’s citations for public viewing. See “Protesters Demand Faster Response from SCPD Regarding Records Requests” at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/09/23/18761997.php .

That protest and research at the SCPD revealed the massive disparity of citations given by Officer Barnett to homeless people (“transient” or 115 Coral St. addresses) versus those given to others for such “crimes” as “smoking in a no smoking zone”, “trespass in a public parking lot”, “panhandling” & “sitting within 14′ of a building”. See “Report from Cop Corner” at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/09/17/18761766.php .

Audio from the 12-17 protest will be played on Free Radio 12-25 6-8 PM (at 101.3 FM, freakradio.org) and archived at http://radiolibre.org/brb/brb141225.mp3 .

Continue reading

Council Moves to Shut Down “Shame” Protest; Excludes Public; Jettisons Agenda

 

Council Moves to Shut Down “Shame” Protest; Excludes Public; Jettisons Agenda
by Robert Norse
Tuesday Dec 9th, 2014 10:29 PM

Every single speaker opposed the acquisition of a new armored police vehicle at the afternoon City Council meeting. When two speakers turned their backs on the Council, outgoing Mayor Robinson made arrest threats, further heightening the tension in the room. At one point the Council left the room, leaving the community to organize its own meeting. They shortly returned, quickly voted in the police vehicle, without giving a clear answers to questions about the deadline requirement, additional costs, and the potential for further militarizing the police force. Speakers began shouting “shame” from the floor. Police “escorted” one out; others raised the cry; police then cleared the chambers and the Council met (illegally) behind locked doors and drawn shades.

At the request of activist Steven Argue and others, Micah Posner pulled item #13 “2015 Homeland Security Grant Funding – Budget Adjustment (PD/FD)” off the agenda for more extensive debate.

At some point I hope to give a more extensive account of the critical testimony as well as the police PR for the “rescue tank”. It took the police half an hour or more to come up with a picture of the machine–which activists had found on line hours before.

Deputy-Chief Clark claimed the agenda item was “time sensitive”, but declined to specify what the deadline was for applying for the grant. Councilmember Posner–who asked the question–considerately took him off the hook and immediately suggested that Clark’s assurance was enough for him. He moved that the $250 grand piece of heavy hardware be accepted with the caveat that it “not be used against peaceful protesters”, and that in future such items be placed on the regular agenda and given several weeks notice for the public. Posner’s scramble to please all sides while essentially rubberstamping the item was pathetically obvious.

His motion was voted down 5-2, and the item passed 6-1–prompting the cries of shame that led Robinson to order police to force the public to leave the meeting.

Outside, people continued to shout “shame”. When the Council resumed deliberations behind locked doors, it refused me and others access without explanation. No one was arrested or cited. Demands that he Council allow the public to reenter the chambers were ignored. The shutters were drawn. At several points police chief Kevin Vogel asked me if we could hear the proceedings through the speakers–which we couldn’t. That didn’t stop the Council from proceeding as though we weren’t there. Well in fact, we weren’t. We were all locked out.

One bright note was that any action on the infamous Stay Away Ordinance was postponed until the second Tuesday in January according to Micah Posner. A second was the apparent determination of many ejected from the meeting to hit the streets in protest in the days ahead–specifically Saturday when a day long event with marches, die-in’s, and other actions against police violence are planned. Additionally some felt empowered and for once not cowed by the police-backed authority of City Council.

Outside HUFF brownie baker “Push Back” Pat Colby served brownie, coffee, and vegan soup–compliments of Jumbogumbo Joe Schultz.

The evening session, I’m told proceeded with the usual congratulatory blather and a post-coronation chowdown in the Civic.

LEAVE COMMENTS, AUDIO, AND VIDEO AT https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/12/09/18765331.php \

I”ll be playing some audio and commenting on the afternoon’s events on Free Radio Santa Cruz Thursday evening 6=-8 PM at 101.3 FM and/or freakradio.org .