A friend of mine said he e-mailed Council Member Lisa Goodman asking for a moratorium on the no camping laws so people who are homeless will not be harassed by the police to keep moving on, having camp sites destroyed and abuse delivered.
If my friend misquoted Ms. Goodman, I hope she corrects me but he said she told him that "there is no real problem with homeless persons being harassed, threatened with arrest, abused by the police".
Ms. Goodman has never responded to my request for her position on the camping ordinance or to my request for a filmed interview.
So, I am glad that somebody got a response from her--
It is a response that seems too typical of some our past and present city council members-that if people who are powerless, without money and connections are not able to have their voices heard by those running the city, then there is not a problem.
When I worked as a shelter advocate at the old Salvation Army buildng,I witnessed several men, (homeless men) who were resting out of the heat in the (then under construction) Target Center, being led by two police offices handcuffed in a line together and marched down the street. One of the officers decided to kick (with great force) one of the men at the end of the line. the man was not resisting, he was walking along.
When I called the police to complain (this was in 1987) I was rudely told that there was nothing I could do about it. Several incidents later, and several calls later, it was made clear to me that the police felt untouchable.
I have also met police officers who were kind and caring--however, the issue is that we do not have a system for accountability for those officers who do commit abuse and worse.
And as long as we have laws that allow the police to exercise abuse under the guise of the law, the problem continues.
From 1987 until now, not much has changed... I spoke to a man who is homeless about his beating at the hands of police on Franklin Avenue, a few months ago. I have interviewed several people who are homeless about their being told to move on, or having their camps along the river destroyed.
I am encouraged to see that the demand for accountability seems to be continuing despite the efforts to co-opt it, to brush the issues under the rug and to simply ignore it.
Margaret Hastings-Kingfield, Mpls
