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On Driving Away Homeless People From San Lorenzo Park on Saturday Moring

by Robert Norse
SC Patch reports a memorial for Shannon Collins,at the San Lorenzo Duck Pond yesterday. She was the Camouflage owner slain last month whose death has resulted in a hysterical call for crack-downs on innocent homeless people by old-time bigots like Take Back Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Neighbors, and the Sentinel. What SC Patch didn't report was an earlier police sweep denying dozens of people their right to be in the park apparently in order to clear the area so that the "proper people" could be at the Memorial later in the day. Such was the impression I got speaking with folks yesterday afternoon who'd been run off under threat of arrest.
I left the following comment on the SC Patch story at http://santacruz.patch.com/articles/friends-and-family-gather-to-remember-shannon-kathleen-collins?ncid=newsltuspatc00000001#photo-10258770 :

"Earlier that day, reportedly four or more squad cars arrived to drive away homeless folks who were resting in the park. "Leave or be arrested" was the mantra used by the police according to three who were builied into leaving.

I don't think Ken Vinson and Shannon Collins would have been happy to see this kind of dark bigotry--which has been on the rise recently.

I've written about this recently in the Sentinel at http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/opinion/ci_20783297/you-see-it-leaders-push-anti-homeless-agenda .

I had brief contacts with the folks at Camouflage myself, but they were one of the few businesses that posted a sign supporting the rights of the homeless. (See http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/07/12/18607255.php).

My thanks to them again for their courage and common sense.

The SCPD (and whoever prompted the earlier "homeless cleansing" of the park) should be ashamed."
I sent the following Public Records Act demand to Trisha Husome earlier today:

From: rnorse3 [at] hotmail.com
To: thusome [at] cityofsantacruz.com
CC: spleich [at] gmail.com
Subject: Public Records Act Request
Date: Mon, 11 Jun 2012 13:23:18 -0700

Trisha:

Please make available for viewing or hearing, any police written, audio, or visual records involving police activity in San Lorenzo Park for Saturday June 9, 2012.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Robert Norse
(423-4833)


Trisha acknowledged the letter and is required to respond within 10 days.

It's not clear if the apparently exclusionary action continued into the Memorial itself. If anyone has any info, please post.
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DATE
Confused
Mon, Jun 25, 2012 12:55PM
John Jones
Tue, Jun 19, 2012 6:14PM
Robert Norse
Sat, Jun 16, 2012 7:34AM
Robert Norse
Thu, Jun 14, 2012 2:47AM
Typical unsubstantiated bombast
Sun, Jun 10, 2012 1:03PM
lighthouse Linda
Sun, Jun 10, 2012 12:08PM
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