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Santa Cruz Police Target Homeless Sleepers Downtown
This month the downtown post office in Santa Cruz was cleared by police of what had been a large and regular presence of sleepers at night. The post office had been used as shelter for 6-12 people a night for some time. A homeless man who was sleeping outside of Bookshop Santa Cruz and cited with two other sleepers for trespassing this month said he thought the police were ticketing at increased rate recently to get homeless people to move along before the next rains arrived. [Top photo: SCPD officer Dominique Hohmann places her hand on her gun as she issues a man sleeping outside of Bookshop Santa Cruz a citation.]
The current enforcement patterns in the City of Santa Cruz are an extension of the homeless sweeps that began in 2012. According to Santa Cruz Police Department statistics, the number of camping ban citations issued by police officers is presently at the same level as when the department dramatically increased enforcement of the ordinance during their widely publicized series of homeless sweeps initiated in the city in July of 2012. (see chart below)
Reports have come in from a variety of sources noting that police have been methodically targeting the most common locations in in the commercial corridor of downtown Santa Cruz where homeless individuals sleep. One member of the Freedom Sleepers said this has been happening since January. The Freedom Sleepers are a group of activists who have been sleeping at Santa Cruz City Hall on Tuesday nights since July 4 to protest local laws that criminalize homelessness. Additionally, many of the Freedom Sleepers believe that sleeping as part of a larger protest group at city hall has provided them some level of safety from law enforcement.
One of the three sleepers cited at Bookshop Santa Cruz this month was a 59-year-old woman who had no bedding. She was using her jacket to cover herself as she crouched and reclined somewhat while sitting on several thin layers of newspaper. (see photos below)
A grey-haired man next to her used cardboard as a sleeping pad on the tile walkway. He covered himself with a blanket and a lightweight sleeping bag that was unzipped and opened up.
The third person used a higher quality sleeping bag and slept on a manufactured sleeping pad on top of a tarp.
The three people were sleeping outside of an unused entrance to the bookstore, on the Front Street side of the building, in the middle of the night. All three were elders and were sleeping with a minimal amount of possessions.
Officer Dominique Hohmann, of the Santa Cruz Police Department, was the first police officer on the scene. She began writing up the paperwork for the first citation before any of the three sleepers were awake, and before a back-up officer arrived.
She then woke the first person up and gathered his personal information as he lay in his sleeping bag.
When it came time for him to sign the citation, Hohmann leaned down to hand it to him while placing her free hand on her gun The move clearly demonstrated how potentially volatile the situation was.
She kept her hand on her gun during the entire encounter with the man.
Back-up officer David Gunter then arrived in another patrol vehicle.
With Gunter close to her, Hohmann continued to hold her gun in the same manner while issuing the next two people their citations.
According to Hohmann, Bookshop Santa Cruz has a trespassing complaint letter filed with the City Of Santa Cruz that gives police the authority to automatically cite individuals for trespassing if they are seen on the property after hours.
The first person cited told police this was not true.
He claimed that Bookshop Santa Cruz had no such letter filed and he did not believe that the people sleeping there were in violation of the law.
When another of the three asked why they were being cited for trespassing, Hohmann said it was just one of the laws that she could potentially write them up for. She said she could also write them up for lying on the sidewalk and for "camping."
"If you prefer a camping one, I can write you for that also," she said in a condescending tone.
Without waiting for an answer, Hohmann told the woman to "have a great night" before returning to her patrol vehicle.
Before she left, the man who claimed Bookshop Santa Cruz did not have a trespassing complaint on file with the police shouted that he would, "see her in court."
Neither of the officers on the scene provided the group with any information about places they could sleep legally or safely.
Incidents occurring on other evenings in February reveal details of the energy Santa Cruz police direct towards homeless people sleeping at night downtown.
At about 11:30 pm on one evening this month, two Santa Cruz police officers confronted a person who was sleeping in front of the downtown Santa Cruz post office. The person was sleeping with barely any supplies at all when he was woken up and cited. (see photos below)
At about 1am on another evening this month, a Santa Cruz police officer and his sergeant were called to the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium by a First Alarm security guard in order to move along a homeless person sleeping outside one of the Center Street side exits of the building.
The sergeant told him that "City Hall" had a trespassing complaint letter on file with the police department and that they would cite him for trespassing if he did not leave.
The homeless man said the first Alarm guard had asked him to leave his sleeping spot at the Civic, but that he did not leave fast enough for the guard The guard then grabbed at the man's bicycle, which was locked to a hand rail, and attempted to forcibly move it away from the civic auditorium. That was when the guard called the police on the man Police did not issue him a citation and the homeless man left after the warning.
The homeless sweeps by police have come at a great cost to the city.
In 2012, SCPD statistics showed that 42 percent of all arrests and 32 percent of all citations issued by the department were for "nuisance crimes" related to the homeless population. An article published in 2013 in the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported that assistant city manager Tina Shull estimated the police response to incidents involving the homeless would cost the city around $1 million annually when applying that year's police data.
Additionally, the city contracted with First Alarm to patrol downtown Santa Cruz for $350,000 at that time.
Data from the Santa Cruz Police show that the number of citations issued for illegal camping has skyrocketed since the department, along with the department of Parks and Recreation, initiated the homeless sweeps in 2012. The decision to initiate those sweeps were departmental, and never went before the city council for approval.
At the city council's most recent public safety study session held on November 3, Deputy Chief of Police Rick Martinez explained the increase in citations in 2012 was the result of the establishment of a "camping" hotline by the SCPD and the city's parks department. The sweeps are supported by a "directed enforcement team," which focuses on targeting homeless sleeping sites in the city.
In 2014 the number of camping citations issued by police reached a recent high. Martinez gave a breakdown of those statistics.
2096 camping citations were issued in 2014. 822 of those, or 39%, were issued on public property, and 61% were issued on private property.
Martinez noted that many nuisance citations are issued at business locations that have a trespassing complaint on file with police, but he did not go into specifics, and the statement seems to be contradicted in the "Nuisance Crimes Citations" chart that was included in the public safety presentation. The chart shows trespassing citations have remained at a constant before and after the initiation of the 2012 homeless sweeps.
The statistics presented by police at the study session did not include the number of times homeless people were contacted by police when a citation was not issued.
Neither was the overall cost of contacting, citing, and arresting so many homeless individuals.
Alex Darocy
http://alexdarocy.blogspot.com/
Reports have come in from a variety of sources noting that police have been methodically targeting the most common locations in in the commercial corridor of downtown Santa Cruz where homeless individuals sleep. One member of the Freedom Sleepers said this has been happening since January. The Freedom Sleepers are a group of activists who have been sleeping at Santa Cruz City Hall on Tuesday nights since July 4 to protest local laws that criminalize homelessness. Additionally, many of the Freedom Sleepers believe that sleeping as part of a larger protest group at city hall has provided them some level of safety from law enforcement.
One of the three sleepers cited at Bookshop Santa Cruz this month was a 59-year-old woman who had no bedding. She was using her jacket to cover herself as she crouched and reclined somewhat while sitting on several thin layers of newspaper. (see photos below)
A grey-haired man next to her used cardboard as a sleeping pad on the tile walkway. He covered himself with a blanket and a lightweight sleeping bag that was unzipped and opened up.
The third person used a higher quality sleeping bag and slept on a manufactured sleeping pad on top of a tarp.
The three people were sleeping outside of an unused entrance to the bookstore, on the Front Street side of the building, in the middle of the night. All three were elders and were sleeping with a minimal amount of possessions.
Officer Dominique Hohmann, of the Santa Cruz Police Department, was the first police officer on the scene. She began writing up the paperwork for the first citation before any of the three sleepers were awake, and before a back-up officer arrived.
She then woke the first person up and gathered his personal information as he lay in his sleeping bag.
When it came time for him to sign the citation, Hohmann leaned down to hand it to him while placing her free hand on her gun The move clearly demonstrated how potentially volatile the situation was.
She kept her hand on her gun during the entire encounter with the man.
Back-up officer David Gunter then arrived in another patrol vehicle.
With Gunter close to her, Hohmann continued to hold her gun in the same manner while issuing the next two people their citations.
According to Hohmann, Bookshop Santa Cruz has a trespassing complaint letter filed with the City Of Santa Cruz that gives police the authority to automatically cite individuals for trespassing if they are seen on the property after hours.
The first person cited told police this was not true.
He claimed that Bookshop Santa Cruz had no such letter filed and he did not believe that the people sleeping there were in violation of the law.
When another of the three asked why they were being cited for trespassing, Hohmann said it was just one of the laws that she could potentially write them up for. She said she could also write them up for lying on the sidewalk and for "camping."
"If you prefer a camping one, I can write you for that also," she said in a condescending tone.
Without waiting for an answer, Hohmann told the woman to "have a great night" before returning to her patrol vehicle.
Before she left, the man who claimed Bookshop Santa Cruz did not have a trespassing complaint on file with the police shouted that he would, "see her in court."
Neither of the officers on the scene provided the group with any information about places they could sleep legally or safely.
Incidents occurring on other evenings in February reveal details of the energy Santa Cruz police direct towards homeless people sleeping at night downtown.
At about 11:30 pm on one evening this month, two Santa Cruz police officers confronted a person who was sleeping in front of the downtown Santa Cruz post office. The person was sleeping with barely any supplies at all when he was woken up and cited. (see photos below)
At about 1am on another evening this month, a Santa Cruz police officer and his sergeant were called to the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium by a First Alarm security guard in order to move along a homeless person sleeping outside one of the Center Street side exits of the building.
The sergeant told him that "City Hall" had a trespassing complaint letter on file with the police department and that they would cite him for trespassing if he did not leave.
The homeless man said the first Alarm guard had asked him to leave his sleeping spot at the Civic, but that he did not leave fast enough for the guard The guard then grabbed at the man's bicycle, which was locked to a hand rail, and attempted to forcibly move it away from the civic auditorium. That was when the guard called the police on the man Police did not issue him a citation and the homeless man left after the warning.
The homeless sweeps by police have come at a great cost to the city.
In 2012, SCPD statistics showed that 42 percent of all arrests and 32 percent of all citations issued by the department were for "nuisance crimes" related to the homeless population. An article published in 2013 in the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported that assistant city manager Tina Shull estimated the police response to incidents involving the homeless would cost the city around $1 million annually when applying that year's police data.
Additionally, the city contracted with First Alarm to patrol downtown Santa Cruz for $350,000 at that time.
Data from the Santa Cruz Police show that the number of citations issued for illegal camping has skyrocketed since the department, along with the department of Parks and Recreation, initiated the homeless sweeps in 2012. The decision to initiate those sweeps were departmental, and never went before the city council for approval.
At the city council's most recent public safety study session held on November 3, Deputy Chief of Police Rick Martinez explained the increase in citations in 2012 was the result of the establishment of a "camping" hotline by the SCPD and the city's parks department. The sweeps are supported by a "directed enforcement team," which focuses on targeting homeless sleeping sites in the city.
In 2014 the number of camping citations issued by police reached a recent high. Martinez gave a breakdown of those statistics.
2096 camping citations were issued in 2014. 822 of those, or 39%, were issued on public property, and 61% were issued on private property.
Martinez noted that many nuisance citations are issued at business locations that have a trespassing complaint on file with police, but he did not go into specifics, and the statement seems to be contradicted in the "Nuisance Crimes Citations" chart that was included in the public safety presentation. The chart shows trespassing citations have remained at a constant before and after the initiation of the 2012 homeless sweeps.
The statistics presented by police at the study session did not include the number of times homeless people were contacted by police when a citation was not issued.
Neither was the overall cost of contacting, citing, and arresting so many homeless individuals.
Alex Darocy
http://alexdarocy.blogspot.com/
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Who are you to ...
As a small business owner in Santa Cruz I must deal with the homeless on a daily basis. Almost every morning I need to ask sleeping homeless people to leave my property then I need to go out and hose down the urine and feces that they created, I also need to pick up all the garbage they left behind, before I can open for business.
It is not the police sweeps that is costing the city money, it is the homeless themselves that are costing us all.
It is not the police sweeps that is costing the city money, it is the homeless themselves that are costing us all.
If p. shaw really is a local business owner that really does experience those ugly stereotypes (instead of, for example, being a feeble TBSC marketeer peddling yet more lies), one can only wonder if p. shaw supports effective solutions like 24 hour public bathrooms and legal places to sleep. Surely a successful business person can recognize successful approaches! Simple, proven things that cost less than giving away residences (even though that too has been shown to be cost effective).
The unproductive, ineffective, bigoted and hate based persecution definitely costs money. Millions of tax payer dollars, per year! The 'problems' won't go away, even if you kill them, because broken economic systems continue to produce more, as they have for millennia. Maybe even, one day, p. shaw.
The unproductive, ineffective, bigoted and hate based persecution definitely costs money. Millions of tax payer dollars, per year! The 'problems' won't go away, even if you kill them, because broken economic systems continue to produce more, as they have for millennia. Maybe even, one day, p. shaw.
For more information:
http://PeaceCamp2010insider.blogspot.com/
I'm wondering if the increase in sweeps is connected to the upcoming council agenda item to decriminalize sleep - if a data point to keep sleep illegal is deliberately being developed.
I simply don't believe the claims of commenter 'p shaw' here. If I find out who 'p shaw' is I will boycott their business. The police are not your private security guards, p shaw. Arresting homeless people is not a solution to the problem, it is part of the problem.
Also, if Bookshop Santa Cruz has a trespass letter filed with the city then they should be boycotted. Because of the type of building it is in, I don't believe that business experiences any real problems caused by homeless people.
Businesses downtown blame everything on the homeless, and by doing so they receive an endless amount of free security services via the SCPD.
They simply want all poor people removed from the downtown. People like Bookshop owners Neal, Casey, and Ryan Coonerty want Santa Cruz to become a sanitized playground for rich people, like Carmel is. Neal also fought against raising the minimum wage for workers in Santa Cruz.
Drunks coming out of the bars piss all over Santa Cruz, they drive drunk, but somehow homeless people take all of the blame for every problem imaginable because they aren't as profitable of a clientele to bigoted business owners like p shaw and Bookshop Santa Cruz.
Also, if Bookshop Santa Cruz has a trespass letter filed with the city then they should be boycotted. Because of the type of building it is in, I don't believe that business experiences any real problems caused by homeless people.
Businesses downtown blame everything on the homeless, and by doing so they receive an endless amount of free security services via the SCPD.
They simply want all poor people removed from the downtown. People like Bookshop owners Neal, Casey, and Ryan Coonerty want Santa Cruz to become a sanitized playground for rich people, like Carmel is. Neal also fought against raising the minimum wage for workers in Santa Cruz.
Drunks coming out of the bars piss all over Santa Cruz, they drive drunk, but somehow homeless people take all of the blame for every problem imaginable because they aren't as profitable of a clientele to bigoted business owners like p shaw and Bookshop Santa Cruz.
Be forewarned all Bookshop Santa Cruz boycotters will be banned for life from the store. This happened to Robert Norse and Becky Johnson. The Coonerty Clan doesn't believe economic boycotts are legitimate protests. Ryan Coonerty said that on Santa Cruz TV when he refused to allow Robert Norse to be part of the TV debate.
"The Coonerty Clan doesn't believe economic boycotts are legitimate protests."
I suspect they believe. I suspect they want everyone else to think economic boycotts are illegitimate, or illegal. I suspect they fear economic boycotts because of the fundamental effectiveness of economic boycotts. I suspect 'no HUD millions for fiber' fears are driving Lane's sudden reversal on 'sleep crime' language. Dollar driven tyranny feeds at the dollar trough. Police state tyranny feeds at the tax payer dollar trough. The risk is making it past the vicious unfed tyranny stage alive.
Look at how fans of tyranny treat those without walls. No food. No shelter. No rest. No dignity. Imagine what would happen if the same happened to them, for decades.
Strategy and tactics.
I suspect they believe. I suspect they want everyone else to think economic boycotts are illegitimate, or illegal. I suspect they fear economic boycotts because of the fundamental effectiveness of economic boycotts. I suspect 'no HUD millions for fiber' fears are driving Lane's sudden reversal on 'sleep crime' language. Dollar driven tyranny feeds at the dollar trough. Police state tyranny feeds at the tax payer dollar trough. The risk is making it past the vicious unfed tyranny stage alive.
Look at how fans of tyranny treat those without walls. No food. No shelter. No rest. No dignity. Imagine what would happen if the same happened to them, for decades.
Strategy and tactics.
For more information:
http://PeaceCamp2010insider.blogspot.com/
I don't believe the "Coonerty Clan", as someone who wants to focus on personalities instead of the social issues put it, is part of the problem. As a matter of fact I KNOW they aren't.
I will say though, if the HUFF publicity agent/agitprop artist spreading myths about the "Coonerty Clan" being part of some problem or another regarding homeless people who know how to act responsibly causes problems for those responsible people, the person or persons who fomented the issue will NOT be safe on the streets of Santa Cruz, because, for the most part, including the public bathrooms, BSSC is pretty kind to the homeless and if you fuck it up for us...
Get the picture propagandist? Personal attacks are counterproductive...
I will say though, if the HUFF publicity agent/agitprop artist spreading myths about the "Coonerty Clan" being part of some problem or another regarding homeless people who know how to act responsibly causes problems for those responsible people, the person or persons who fomented the issue will NOT be safe on the streets of Santa Cruz, because, for the most part, including the public bathrooms, BSSC is pretty kind to the homeless and if you fuck it up for us...
Get the picture propagandist? Personal attacks are counterproductive...
Coonerty was Mayor, I believe, when the sit-lie law was passed by the city council.
And the sit-lie law is referenced in the article.
The cop with the gun said it was one of the laws she could use against these unhoused people.
And the sit-lie law is referenced in the article.
The cop with the gun said it was one of the laws she could use against these unhoused people.
You DO realize publishing pics of homeless people where they sleep ENDANGERS those homeless people and their ability to sleep at those locations anymore, don't you Alex? Just because the police give some homeless person a ticket may not dissuade them from returning, because they're not meeting the police there every night or they most likely wouldn't stay there ... but the idea that some thug from TBSC viewing the pictures here knew where to 'look them up' might.
Ps. The police HADN'T been 'sweeping' until that night. How did you know Alex? Ride-along? The SCPD tipped you?
Tell us Alex, because your apparent lack-of-concern for the personal security of people you ostensibly have sympathy for worries some of us.
Ps. The police HADN'T been 'sweeping' until that night. How did you know Alex? Ride-along? The SCPD tipped you?
Tell us Alex, because your apparent lack-of-concern for the personal security of people you ostensibly have sympathy for worries some of us.
Just Sayin', "Just Sayin'"
The "problem" is much much larger than any one politician or business and has been a hot button since the 1970s.
Just because some law or another was passed on their watch is fuck all of a reason to not focus on the problem NOW, and the issue NOW, and if everyone's blaming what Pamela Comstock jammed through on Micah Posner ten years from now I'm simply going to laugh my MF ass off at those people's incredible ignorance like I'm laughing at the people blaming Neil Coonerty et al now.
I do want to point out however that every stupid law the city makes affecting the houseless just drives the ones who aren't creating problems away and creates a literal playground for the 'fuck-ups', as exist in every strata of society. I think Neil Coonerty figured that out in the aftermath... Hence his "Keep Santa Cruz Weird" campaign. It's kind of obvious he thinks what they did, with or without his support, didn't work, and 'overshot' whatever 'mark' they had set.
The "problem" is much much larger than any one politician or business and has been a hot button since the 1970s.
Just because some law or another was passed on their watch is fuck all of a reason to not focus on the problem NOW, and the issue NOW, and if everyone's blaming what Pamela Comstock jammed through on Micah Posner ten years from now I'm simply going to laugh my MF ass off at those people's incredible ignorance like I'm laughing at the people blaming Neil Coonerty et al now.
I do want to point out however that every stupid law the city makes affecting the houseless just drives the ones who aren't creating problems away and creates a literal playground for the 'fuck-ups', as exist in every strata of society. I think Neil Coonerty figured that out in the aftermath... Hence his "Keep Santa Cruz Weird" campaign. It's kind of obvious he thinks what they did, with or without his support, didn't work, and 'overshot' whatever 'mark' they had set.
And then they both became County Commissioners.
Wake me when the Pope excommunicates Cynthia Matthews.
Wake me when the Pope excommunicates Cynthia Matthews.
For more information:
http://PeaceCamp2010insider.blogspot.com/
If the sleeper Alex referenced was cited for trespassing then he couldn't also be cited for sitting/lying on a public sidewalk. These SCPD officers don't even understand the phalanx of unconstitutional laws they use to harass homeless people here. They make the rules up as they go.
By publishing these photos Alex is safeguarding these homeless sleepers from retaliation. His articles and photographs are making their way to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch in Washington, DC.
"Colby":
"By publishing these photos Alex is safeguarding these homeless sleepers from retaliation. His articles and photographs are making their way to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch in Washington, DC."
Nice, the FBI can watch over them and protect them... I'm SURE they'll appreciate it too!
Dude... You're a whackjob...
"By publishing these photos Alex is safeguarding these homeless sleepers from retaliation. His articles and photographs are making their way to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch in Washington, DC."
Nice, the FBI can watch over them and protect them... I'm SURE they'll appreciate it too!
Dude... You're a whackjob...
I doubt the FBI will do anything, they are busy playing security theater with Apple at the moment.
Maybe the sweep was a "fuck you" from SCPD to Lane? If LEO is a no show in court, or the initial hearing happens after 45 days, the charges could be dismissed (it happens, from time to time, for the lucky ones). Trespass? Loitering? If the DA bothers, the charges would probably change before sentencing.
Maybe the sweep was a "fuck you" from SCPD to Lane? If LEO is a no show in court, or the initial hearing happens after 45 days, the charges could be dismissed (it happens, from time to time, for the lucky ones). Trespass? Loitering? If the DA bothers, the charges would probably change before sentencing.
For more information:
http://PeaceCamp2010insider.blogspot.com/
Neal Coonerty, Mayor in 1993, initiated, and later successfully passed the Downtown Ordinances creating forbidden zones up and down Pacific Avenue.
Ryan Coonerty in 2006 and 2007 successfully banned assembly in all public parking lots. He claims to be a "constitutional lawyer".
Both have supported the Sleeping Ban throughout their political careers.
Neal has banned a variety of activists (including me and Becky) from his Bookshop for peaceful political activity that focused on his or his son's role in the anti-homeless laws.
It is true that even prior to the creation of the Visitor's Bathrooms, supposedly open to all (even non-customers), Neal kept his bathrooms open to the community--for which he should be commended.
However that bathroom, as well as the one at Cafe Gratitude, is now publicly funded. A year and a half ago Neal aggressively threatened me when I attempted to use it during a public event.
Though he did for a time create and sell the "Keep Santa Cruz Weird" t-shirts in 2002, this did not indicate much real opposition to the doubling of forbidden zones, the move-along law, and the other anti-homeless laws rushed through that year by Porter and Reilly. Subsequently the logo "support your local street performer" was removed--as I remember.
Thanks to Alex for shining the spotlight on police abuse. One of the few, if only, media people who do.
Ryan Coonerty in 2006 and 2007 successfully banned assembly in all public parking lots. He claims to be a "constitutional lawyer".
Both have supported the Sleeping Ban throughout their political careers.
Neal has banned a variety of activists (including me and Becky) from his Bookshop for peaceful political activity that focused on his or his son's role in the anti-homeless laws.
It is true that even prior to the creation of the Visitor's Bathrooms, supposedly open to all (even non-customers), Neal kept his bathrooms open to the community--for which he should be commended.
However that bathroom, as well as the one at Cafe Gratitude, is now publicly funded. A year and a half ago Neal aggressively threatened me when I attempted to use it during a public event.
Though he did for a time create and sell the "Keep Santa Cruz Weird" t-shirts in 2002, this did not indicate much real opposition to the doubling of forbidden zones, the move-along law, and the other anti-homeless laws rushed through that year by Porter and Reilly. Subsequently the logo "support your local street performer" was removed--as I remember.
Thanks to Alex for shining the spotlight on police abuse. One of the few, if only, media people who do.
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