Santa Cruz Homeless crack down in full selective force

The rise in measures to drive out the homeless is in full force in Santa Cruz. The Sentinel printed an article about an attack on an officer by a “Homeless Man” during the first day of the crack down. First, he was not homeless. He has a low income room which makes him legally housed. Of course, the Sentinel wants headlines -- fear always makes for a good one.

Today I walked the mall to see what was happening. First thing I noticed was an absence of many people I normally see. I stopped and talked to the few people I could find. They were moving around allot, fearful to even stay in one place too long.

Sgt. Flippo noticed a young man sitting against the wall across from the bus station. The young man was alone, sober and not causing any problems. Sgt. Flippo was also on a bicycle and immediately did a U-turn when he saw the young man escaping the unusual hot weather. He demanded to see Id and the young man gave it to him. (Remember you do not have to show ID in California) At this point I turned on my camera and began taking pictures of the officer and recording the event. Sgt. Flippo took notice of me as the young man said “What could I possibly be doing wrong?” Sgt. Flippo replied, “Your sitting against the wall. The young man seemed confused, unfamiliar with our strange laws. He was run against warrants and came out clean. Sgt. Flippo looked back at me and paused and said “I am going to write and official warning, if you’re caught again by any officer, you will receive a ticket.” Ironically, the young man had a shirt on that said “My Lucky Day.”

The homeless are concerned, and many feel they are being selectively sought out and they are correct. They also feel that they are being blamed and punished for the actions of others, bar drunks, people from out of town that come here to sell drugs and then leave.

As I continued my walk I counted 10 people who were not homeless, did not have long hair, or carrying around backpacks; they were all sitting against the walls of the mall to escape the heat with complete immunity from the treatment the young man received, who may or may not have been homeless. I watched a few tickets being given for dogs to the homeless while tourists seem to walk by the police with complete immunity to this ordinance as well.

I think we need to form our own COP WATCH. We have one or two people a day with a decent digital camera and a cell phone to watch the police and record their actions. This idea needs much more thought, but, I think it could be useful. People being cited or arrested could know to shout for a COP WATCHER to witness the event. Cop Watchers could also be there to make sure these laws are enforced on the tourists as well as the poor.