PHOTO/DONATED
ST. PETERSBURG, FL — With Tampa, Florida’s city government’s recent passage of a “No camping or sleeping on the Streets” ordinance, another law is passed criminalizing the homeless. With Florida taking the lead in criminalizing the homeless, the juggernaut goes on with the Police States war on the poor. Increasingly, the only “solution” to this problem of the poor is arrest, incarceration or putting “these people” into government or Department of Corrections facilities, such as tent cities or so-called “Safe Harbors” run by law enforcement.
Cities, such as St. Petersburg, Florida, continue to profile the homeless. Routinely, members of the homeless community are harassed, profiled, searched, and arrested in city parks, such as Williams Park in St. Petersburg. In a recent “sweep” of several homeless individuals, a young African American man named Omar, was arrested on minimal charges, and then was nearly “beaten to death” by jail guards of the Pinellas County jail. These jail guards are part of the Sheriff’s department. This young man ended up being hospitalized. A report about what the jail guards did was given to internal affairs and did not result in either criminal charges or suspension of said officers. The three white guards, including a sergeant were implicated in the beatings and a slew of racial epitaphs, but nothing happened!
My own recent arrest by Police for simply attempting to video and question Police, as they were harassing individuals for just sleeping or resting on the grass in a park, is just another in a series of injustices. Even though my case was won, they were still able to trespass me from a public park. This case is now going to federal court on 1st Amendment arguments.
Another case of someone trying to stand up for the poor against injustice resulted in the Police setting up a bishop of a small denomination in Tampa, and arresting him. This bishop is with a small Independent Liberation Theology oriented Catholic Church. This bishop was known for supporting “housing takeovers” for poor families, helping addicts and prostitutes, and assisting the homeless. This is just another injustice.
The time has come to end this War against the poor! To create a society based on justice and cooperation. To unite with this class of the poor… “Woe to you who make unjust laws to deprive the Poor of their rights…” Isaiah 10:1-4
