SACRAMENTO - In the latest battle in a long struggle by the Capital City’s homeless population against the City of Sacramento’s anti-human rights policies, several dozen Sacramento police officers demolished a homeless protest camp in front of City Hall today around 7:45 a.m.
It was the 33rd day of the encampment that began December 8, according to a news release from the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) Sacramento.
Video of some of the police raid of the protest is captured here....www.youtube.com/....
To see some photos of the raid and aftermath, go to: www.youtube.com/…
The police jailed two organizers – protest spokesman James Clark and David André – on misdemeanor ‘camping’ charges, according to the Guild. The officers arrested several others but cited and released them on the spot. There have been about a dozen other arrests since SPD began to enforce controversial city laws on January 2.
“Police also confiscated personal property of those at the protest camp, and hauled it away in pickup truck loads. Homeless protesters said they are now are on the streets without anything to protect them from the elements until at least Monday morning when the property may be released,” the group said.
“The City threatened to break up the camp Friday about noon, but decided not to after the news media flooded the City Hall area. Instead, the City waited until early Saturday to destroy the protest camp,” the NLG stated.
Homeless advocates began a hunger strike against the City’s policies against the homeless on Tuesday, January 5. The battle against the City has drawn up to several dozen camper-protesters.
"With the onset of bad weather the City has decided to harass us and criminalize us," said James Clark on Tuesday.
Clark noted that in Los Angeles, the city council declared a homelessness crisis in November as it prepared to change city ordinances to let people temporarily live in their cars and sleep on sidewalks. The LA County Board of Supervisors declared a "shelter crisis" because of concerns strong winter storms could flood homeless camps.
In a statement Tuesday, Clark said:
"This hunger strike will be in protest of the harm caused to the homeless population of Sacramento, and anywhere with similar ordinances, by the Unlawful Camping ordinance. I am aware that this will cause concern for my personal health. Thank you for your concern, but I feel that the sacrifice must be made to protect the health and safety of all who suffer under such an inhumane ordinance. To deny one the ability to use necessary items for survival is akin to punishing their status. Further, the ordinance directly targets homeless individuals for an unavoidable behavior, having camping paraphernalia…
"Considering the excessive show of force (50 officers in riot gear for 20 people in sleeping bags, tarps, a tent, and sleeping, with 4 arrests and 3 citations) upon the occupation over the camping ordinance, as ordered by the city manager's office, just after midnight Saturday, January 2nd, I am convinced the city does not understand the harm and waste of money this ordinance causes. The city spends $7 million on pushing people around town and sending them to the hospital once their sick, and only $2.5 million on services. It has become apparent to me that the city has failed to see the gravity of peoples circumstances and how this ordinance worsens them.
NLG Sacramento said the U.S. Department of Justice has issued a statement of interest in a federal case in Boise, in which seven people sued the city over their conviction for the "crime" of camping. The DOJ in August of 2015 said bans on sleeping in public are unconstitutional: www.justice.gov/…
"Anonymous Resistance," an online hacker group, has released a SECOND VIDEO warning the City of Sacramento to stop harassing the homeless of Sacramento, and encouraging "citizens" of Sacramento to contact city leaders and also contact travel, hotel and restaurant websites to "let the world know about the city's anti-sleeping" laws and how "contemptible" and heartless the City of Sacramento has been.
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