SANTA ANA : Rally Protests Police Sweeps of Homeless

A small group of protesters rallied Thursday outside Santa Ana City Hall to complain about the Police Department’s roundup of the homeless at the Civic Center.

Carrying signs that read, “Compassion not harassment,” about a dozen people from the Catholic Worker organization demonstrated on behalf of the homeless.

But many passers-by said they support the police sweeps.

“They’re bums,” one man said of the homeless.

“What disturbs me the most is that there’s a lashing out against the homeless,” said Jonathan Parfrey, who organized the protest. “It’s not posh or chic anymore to help the homeless. So people think it’s OK to harass them.”

In the past 2 weeks, police have conducted two sweeps at the Civic Center, arresting more than 90 people, most of them for municipal code infractions such as public drunkenness, littering and urinating in public. Seven people were arrested on outstanding warrants.

Homeless rights advocates have criticized the sweeps, saying they are police harassment.

During an Aug. 15 sweep, police arrested 64 people and took them to Santa Ana Stadium, where officers marked their arms with booking numbers and chained them to benches for 6 hours. The arrestees were then cited with misdemeanors and released. More than 30 of those arrested have sought help from Orange County’s Legal Aid Society, which is organizing a task force to defend them in court. Legal Aid officials say they will try to seek a temporary restraining order to stop the roundups.

Parfrey said Santa Ana officials were not offering alternatives to the homeless.

“‘I’m sympathetic with people who go to work here and, yes, maybe it smells here because of the homeless,” Parfrey said. “But is the solution really to drive them out with harassment?”

Many who work at the Civic Center, such as attorney Randall Bisson, said they support the police action.

“The conditions at the Civic Center have gotten worse and worse,” Bisson said. “For people who have to work here every day, it’s hard to put up with people who use the parking lots as restrooms.”