Activists Stage Sit-Down in Support of Homeless
Nine activists staged a sit-down demonstration outside a police station Monday to protest what they claim is a stepped-up effort to clear the streets of homeless people before the Democratic National Convention in August.
“It happened before, when the pope came, and during the Olympics,” said Alice Callaghan, a homeless advocate, who sat with the others outside the Central police station to test how the city’s anti-loitering ordinance would be enforced.
Fliers were posted in the skid row area Sunday night warning the homeless about penalties for sitting on the sidewalk, Callaghan said.
Police said the ordinance has been enforced routinely for years, and they denied having anything to do with the fliers.
“I don’t know where that flier came from,” said Lt. Charles Evans, the station’s watch commander. “We’ve been enforcing that ordinance for the past 15 years. There is no nexus between what we’ve been doing and the DNC.”
Any increase in enforcement can be attributed to more homeless people on the street, Evans said.
Police did not cite the protesters for sitting on the sidewalk.
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