Police Turn Back Homeless Marchers at S. F. City Hall
More than 35 policeman in riot gear formed a protective line to turn back dozens of ragged demonstrators who advanced on City Hall Friday in the latest episode of this city’s long and unsuccessful effort to cope with its homeless problem.
The homeless people and sympathetic activists emerged from a grimy encampment across the street and marched on City Hall chanting, “Housing not harassment!” and demanding that Mayor Art Agnos appear and listen to their demands.
The demonstrators retreated from the police line back to their food distribution center in the Civic Center Plaza, but they continued to taunt the officers after police warned that large numbers of them might be arrested.
At least nine of them were taken into custody, some for violating city codes on food distribution and some for interfering with the officers or disobeying police orders during the two-hour protest. The officers seized food, a stove, serving tables and cooking pots.
Although the “Food Not Bombs” demonstrators reportedly violated several health department codes, including operating without a permit and serving food at improper temperatures, group members maintained that they should be able to continue feeding the 150 to 300 homeless people living in the park.
“We want them to leave us alone and just allow us to serve food,” said Bill Woods, a homeless volunteer with Food Not Bombs. “Why don’t they bust a crack lab?”
Several of the demonstrators erected a 10-foot Statue of Liberty replica that held a carrot aloft in one hand while pushing a shopping cart with the other. Police later tore the statue down and carted it away.
The demonstration highlighted the increasing tension at the plaza--a public park in the shadow of City Hall that in recent weeks has become a battleground between the homeless people who refuse to leave and the city workers, local residents and businessmen who say they are fed up with the park’s unsavory sights and smells.
Caught in the middle is Agnos, who has said he will not kick out the homeless until they have alternative housing, but at the same time is trying to appease critics by asking the homeless to take down their tents and remove their belongings.
In the meantime, the encampment continues to stand as a symbol of what critics say is the city’s failure to address a 7-year controversy that officials have either ignored or attempted to solve with Band-Aid fixes that have not worked.
