Sacramento City Police Arrest 17 Homeless Campers

[The Straight Story]

Sacramento City Police Arrest 17 Homeless Campers

Sacramento City Police once again have raided the small SafeGround camp site in downtown. This time they weren’t just looking for illegal tents and sleeping bags, instead they came looking for people.


They arrived around 7:30 am, with a warrant, and quickly proceeded to handcuff and line up most all the campers still on site. With over half a dozen squad cars, seventeen officers, the police van, and the CSI unit, they were able to arrest and move downtown seventeen campers including retired Methodist Minister Rev. David Moss. As of this writing, the campers are being processed and released with a citation and court date for October.


Six of the campers along with Sister Libby of Loaves & Fishes were arrested but later released onsite without being charged. According to officer Leong they weren’t detained further because they didn’t have any prior camping citations.


After all the police left I spoke with one of the campers who was not cited. Tipp, is a very jovial man, and despite the stress of the mornings events was able to laugh at the irony of the situation. “I’ve got three tents and two sleeping bags in police lock up.” And if things keep going this way, who knows how many tents the police may take from him.

http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/13176/Police_arrest_17_homeless_campers

[MineralMan]

1. What were they charged with...third degree poverty?

That there's a felunie, I'm purdy shure.

[Christa]

2. It is criminal to be homeless now? nt

[izquierdista]

3. In sight of the well heeled? Yes

Had they chosen to camp in the middle of the desert or an abandoned mall, no one would have been the wiser.

[juno jones]

4. You've got it there.

I used to live in that part of Sacramento. When there were fewer homeless on the other side of the river (my old neighborhood) it was business as usual. Now that there are more visible homeless daring to camp mere blocks from the gov's mansion and capitol, it has become a big thing.

It is easy to fall between the cracks in Sac. I've been homeless there too, did one stint in the W. Sac fleabag hotels and another camping out behind a friend's house just outside of town. I was lucky to have resources. People were wondering about the high ratio of tents to campers found during these arrests: dollars to donuts those belong to people who are still working-like I was while I was homeless- who came back from their job and found their belongings confiscated.

[create.peace]

5. city workers allegedly spread chicken dung around a social services building and by trees in a p

http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Bird+brained+anti+homeless+plan+Surrey+stinks/1946576/story.html