Unequal and Targeted Enforcement Escalated again on Main Street Yesterday – People Cited for Handing out Seedlings to the Community and Police Monitor Arrested

Downtown Los Angeles gentrification continues to reach all-time lows as LAPD carries on with its mission to rid downtown of poor and homeless, and mostly Black, faces. In the May 20^th episode, LAPD took action to stop…wait for it…a seedling give-a-way in front of the LA CAN office. The bustling operation, coordinated by LA CAN’s community gardeners in front of our office, was being visited by a vast array of downtown stakeholders. In fact, our garden project almost always demonstrates the real potential of bringing together disparate communities and realizing the purported vision of a “mixed-income” downtown – there is widespread support for community gardens and giving residents access to seedlings to start their own gardens of any size.

The Great Plant Caper – Seedling Give-Away at LA CAN

LAPD Officer Owens apparently isn’t a fan of gardening, but is fine with perpetrating the Jim Crow policing used under Downtown’s Safer Cities Initiative.  The tool of choice for years to move poor and homeless people off Main Street has the been the enforcement of municipal code 41.18D – no sleeping or sitting on the sidewalk.  And that’s what Officer Owens was doing yesterday – issuing a ticket to an elderly gentleman sitting in a portable stool and two LA CAN members sitting in chairs handing out seedlings.  Never mind that all parties cited were actually on private property – within 3 feet from a private building.  Never mind that a legal settlement agreement requires LAPD to give people warnings and the opportunity to comply BEFORE citing or arresting anyone for 41.18D.

Fully aware of their rights, and the actual 41.18 D rules, the LA CAN members stated they could not be cited for 41.18D and requested to speak to a supervisor. Instead, within minutes, nearly a dozen police responded to the plant give-away “crime scene.”  Thelmy Perez was monitoring this incredibly over-use of LAPD with her cell phone camera when she was seized by three officers and arrested.  Thelmy was released later in the day and now faces a charge of interfering with police investigation.  Sean and Esteban also received misdemeanor citations for their community gardening activities, and Jody, our elderly neighbor, faces misdemeanor charges for just sitting down for a brief rest. 

Monitoring Police as they Detain Community Gardeners

We of course won’t accept Jim Crow in Skid Row – we will continue to fight for equal rights and equal enforcement through local fights and statewide fights like YES on AB 5, the Homeless Bill of Rights.  We will also fight these four cases together and ensure this most recent round of criminalization of perfectly legal community activities and organizing does not stick! LA CAN will continue our community gardening and seedling give-away programs in public space as well.

Yesterday is unfortunately just one example of the blatant selective enforcement and civil rights violations that define the Safer Cities Initiative, and the continued criminalization of organizers who stand up against these violations.  If you aren’t familiar with Main Street – wealthier residents and visitors sit and stand on the street regularly.  Below you will see the bench in front of the Nickel Diner and the tables and chairs for the new “Creamery”  - where their upscale customers sit without any police harassment, within a block of LA CAN.  Apparently the Nickel Diner can put a bench in front of their establishment (complete with a sign that says “customers only”), but LA CAN members can’t be found in chairs in front of our office.   Again – we won’t accept this and will fight for equity on Main Street and throughout all of LA and beyond.

DRUG WAR: What is it good for? ABSOLUTELY Nothing!

The Drug War And Mass Incarceration By The Numbers

The Huffington Post  |  By Matt Sledge Posted: 04/08/2013

NEW YORK — Despite an increased emphasis on treatment and prevention programs in recent years, the Obama administration in its 2013 budget still requested $25.6 billion in federal spending on the drug war. Of that, $15 billion would go to law enforcement, interdiction and international efforts.

The pro-reform Drug Policy Alliance estimates that when you combine state and local spending on everything from drug-related arrests to prison, the total cost adds up to at least $51 billion per year. Over four decades, the group says, American taxpayers have dished out $1 trillion on the drug war.

What all that money has helped produce — aside from unchanged drug addiction rates — is the world’s highest incarceration rate. According to the Sentencing Project, 2.2 million Americans are in prison or jail.

More than half of federal prisoners are incarcerated for drug crimes in 2010, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, and that number has only just dipped below 50 percent in 2011. Despite more relaxed attitudes among the public at large toward non-violent offenses like marijuana use, the number of people in federal prison for drug offenses spiked from 74,276 in 2000 to 97,472 in 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The punishment falls disproportionately on people of color. Blacks make up 50 percent of the state and local prisoners incarcerated for drug crimes. Black kids are 10 times more likely to be arrested for drug crimes than white ones — even though white kids are more likely to abuse drugs.

A chart produced by the American Civil Liberties Union shows just how staggeringly large the US prison population has grown.

 

CORRECTION: This piece has been changed to make clear the drop in the percentage of federal prisoners in custody for drug crimes from 2010 to 2011.

Professor Christine Petit Demands that the Charges Against Deborah Burton to be DROPPED!

For more information on the unjust charges against Deborah Burton, click HERE.

Central Division, LAPD Officer Earl Wright, and 1.2 million Reasons to Finally Erase Racism

This week the City of Los Angeles, really LA taxpayers, paid Officer Earl Wright S1.2 million after a jury (after 4 hours) found that fried chicken and watermelon birthday cakes were indeed RACIST!  
http://www.scpr.org/news/2013/03/26/36562/black-lapd-officer-wins-1-2-million-discrimination/
and 
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-lapd-verdict-20130326,0,617450.story

LA CAN has witnessed Officer Wright and other officers named in this suit during the course of their duties for years.   There are relatively few Black officers in Central, a division that sits squarely in the middle of one of LA’s last African American/Black strongholds.  What is clear from the details and outcome of this case is that Central Division is as racist and brutal toward African Americans internally as they are externally.

Based in Downtown LA’s  Skid Row community, Central Division sits as if it’s a gun tower on a prison yard. Skid Row is definitely treated as a carceral  community, day in and day out, and bearing witness to human and civil rights violations is a daily occurrence. The issues of race and racism are not new in the community and regardless of what the “new and improved” LAPD might tell you.  Black folks are catching hell in Central Division, inside and outside of the station.

LA CAN has been on the front-lines fighting against the banishment of poor, mostly Black people in Downtown Los Angeles for more than a decade. Our nationally recognized Community Watch program educates residents on their civil rights, documents police activities in our neighborhood, and  intervenes in cases of rights violations by the LAPD and Business Improvement District security guards.  Videos taken over the years shows racist and insensitive behavior that is hauntingly, though probably not surprisingly, similar to the issues faced by Officer Wright.

Officer Wright was harassed with photos depicting him as a character in the 70s TV show  Sanford and Son.  In the news clips below Central Division Officers are caught illegally taking property from skid row residents and dumping it under the 6th Street bridge. Once there, Central Division officers sing the Sanford and Son theme song to summon homeless residents to unload their vehicles and take whatever they want.

Clearly the behavior alleged by Wright is not new and from LAPD’s response to this video — not frowned upon. When we released the footage LAPD’s response was nonchalant and questioned if it was indeed racially charged.  Racism inside…racism out side – that pretty much sums it up.

Take a look for yourself.

LA CAN will continue to fight against LAPD’s oppression and racism in Skid Row, South LA, and across the City. LAPD now has $1.2 MORE reasons why they should finally get serious about confronting, preventing and erasing racism.  Charlie Beck’s “new and improved” mantra, with the support of people like Connie Rice, simply means a better public relations department – not real change.

 

Deborah Burton’s Trial Expected in Late April – These Unjust Charges Should be Dropped!

Yesterday, LA CAN was featured on Voices on the Frontlines with Eric Mann. Listen below to find out more about the coordinated efforts of CCEA, LAPD, and the City Attorney to silence the human rights work of LA CAN.

Deborah Burton, longtime LA CAN member and organizer, has been unjustly charged with three counts of assault for alleged actions during a legal protest in June 2011. She was not charged until August 2012, 14 months later, and public records show that in the interim months LAPD and the Central City East Association actively lobbied the City Attorney to criminally charge LA CAN members involved in a monthly protest of the CCEA’s “Skid Row Walk.” Deborah is just the latest target of the City Attorney’s ongoing campaign to squash protest and political dissent in Los Angeles, including other LA CAN members.

Since 2006, LA CAN has led the charge against LAPD’s Safer Cities Initiative (SCI), which has brought up to 150 additional cops into the Skid Row community and resulted in mass criminalization of homeless and poor, mostly African American, residents. In 2011, LA CAN and partners began protesting the CCEA’s “Skid Row Walk” because it was a tool to promote SCI, perpetuated myths about homeless people, and lacked the voice and participation of community residents.

Immediately after we began our protests, the CCEA, LAPD, and the City Attorney’s office began coordinating and strategizing on ways to stop LA CAN’s opposition to the walk. The quotes below, from emails obtained through Public Records Request, begin to shine light on just how CCEA was trying to use LAPD and the City Attorney to criminalize first amendment rights.

In one email in April 2011, CCEA’s Estela Lopez assures her colleagues that the City Attorney informed her that “they would explore all legal options to protect us and allow us to conduct our walk without interference from LA CAN.”   In another email sent on June 1, 2011 — the evening of the purported assault — Estela confirms they were able to complete their walk “as planned” and never mentions being assaulted or injured by Ms. Burton or anyone else from LA CAN.   In a July 2011 email from LAPD’s Lieutenant Paulson, she tells the City Attorney that she needs information about the filing and documentation of cases related to the public safety walk because “This is going to be an ongoing problem until it gets too costly for them.”

Stay tuned for more information about the documents obtained.

The targeting of LA CAN members exercising first amendment rights by LAPD, at the demand of business leaders, is clearly unjust. The City Attorney should not prosecute this unsubstantiated case and should not continue his past history of criminalizing protest and first amendment rights.

LA CAN members and supporters will be calling on the City Attorney over the coming weeks to drop these charges and not pursue this trial. Please join us! You can call the City Attorney’s office directly (213-978-8100) and/or stay tuned for other ways to get involved by spreading the word through social media and other public actions.

Stopping the TB Mis-information Campaign: LA CAN Calls on Department of Public Health to Explain

The word of  a Skid Row TB “outbreak” traveled quickly. Local, National and International media outlets picked up the story and ran with it–most forgot to check the facts. Concerned family members and supporters called and emailed LA CAN members to make sure they were okay and taking all of the necessary precautions. The story created an environment of fear and panic and those elected and paid to assuage those fears were nowhere to be found.

Just imagine if you lived in or near an area where the LA Times reported the following:

“LAPD officers who patrol the area have long been warned to be on the lookout for people on the street who exhibit symptoms of communicable diseases which include Hepatitis to HIV and staph infections to drug-resistant TB. Officers must also contend with individuals who have parasitic conditions like scabies and lice.”

 ”The email also recommends that officers carry protective masks them with them into the field and don them “if officers have reason to believe an individual is infected with TB.”"

You would definitely be afraid, right? However, how would you feel if the truth sounded more like this?:

Becky Dennison, Co-Director LA CAN, facilitated a robust conversation between skid row community residents and officials from the Department of Public Health. As you could imagine there would be many questions, concerns and recommendations offered by residents:

There were many facts offered by the media that LA CAN challenged, and come to find out so did the Department of Public Health.

“Public health officials have launched a new, coordinated attack to contain a persistent outbreak of tuberculosis on downtown Los Angeles’ skid row, including a search for more than 4,500 people who may have been exposed to the disease.”

“Local and federal officials are particularly concerned because the cases are linked to one relatively small geographic area and one vulnerable population. But officials are concerned that the outbreak could spread beyond skid row if action isn’t taken.”

Genral Dogon, LA CAN wanted to know if a person could get TB by simply touching someone’s property. DPH, in no uncertain terms told him:

Brother Aazim Muhammad, LA CAN wanted to know how he heard about the TB situation from a relative in Philadelphia, PA and while officials in Los Angeles apparently were not going to inform him until:

Jeff Dietrich, Hippie Kitchen wanted to clarify how TB is actually spread and who’s at greatest risk:

This is just a sample of the dialogue, uncut. Check back because we will continue to add excerpts over the next couple of days.

LA CAN Launches NEW Website: CANGRESS.ORG!

 

Click HERE (or on the photo above) to view the new site!

LA CAN is proud to announce that we have launched our new and much improved website. Many longtime followers will know that this has been a longtime coming!

Beyond being the new online home of LA CAN, the new site is designed to be a resource for community members, academics, students, media, and supporters alike.

It features critical information – videos, community action research and reports, testimonials, art, histories, narratives – that highlight and create a comprehensive picture of the struggle for human rights that is occurring in Downtown, South Los Angeles, and beyond.

Lastly, the site is designed to be a living and dynamic database and information source. Please check out it today, but we encourage all of our supporters to regularly check back as we will be unveiling other features and posting critical content on a weekly basis.

Diverse City-wide Coalition Holds Press Conference to Defeat Community Care Facilities Ordinance

More than 100 organizations from across the City of Los Angeles were joined by numerous faith-based leaders last week to urge City Councilmembers to vote NO on the revised Community Care Facilities Ordinance, which would increase segregation and homelessness in Los Angeles.  The Coalition believes in healthy, safe and diverse communities and that shared housing is a crucial component in ensuring this goal throughout all of the City.  For more information, visit www.stopccfo.org.

View Daily News coverage of the press conference here.

STOP TREATING US LIKE TRASH! Public Housing Residents Present HACLA with Over 1,000 Postcards Demanding an End to Unjust Trash Fees

On March 21^st, 2012, LA Human Right to Housing Collective members, representing 8 of the City’s 14 public housing developments, filed suit against the Housing Authority for refusing to reimburse them for years of unjust trash fees. Under federal regulations, the residents should receive a rent credit for the fees.  The suit is currently in mediation.

That is why on November 29^th, the Collective’s Public Housing Committee’s members arrived at a packed Housing Authority Board of Commissioners Meeting to make clear that although the legal process is moving at a snail’s pace, the residents are not sitting idly by but are instead taking advantage of the extra time to engage their neighbors in the campaign to end the trash fees.  By going door to door in their neighborhoods, Collective members obtained over 1,000 postcards and an equal amount of momentum for the campaign within several short weeks.  “We respect your rules, and our neighbors, we expect you to respect our rights” testified Francisco Estrada before the commission as his Pueblo del Rio neighbor Lucia Sanchez held the stack of postcards high and proud. “The real power in our presence is with the 1,000 more residents who stand with us today,” said Lucia.

While we await the outcome of the lawsuit, the Collective will continue to engage more residents and allies.  Next week we will be at City Hall, presenting the Mayor and the Council with the postcards and asking for their support in bringing an end to the trash fees.

“Three Strikes and You’re Out!”: Trutanich Stop Wasting Our Resources

Carmen Trutanich, backed by the Los Angeles Police Department and Central City East Association, has incessantly attempted (on three recent occasions) to obtain the authority to simply deprive homeless people of their personal property. Lavan v. City of Los Angeles, brought by Civil Rights Attorney, Carol Sobel simply lays out what is prescribed by the U.S. Constitution, that people have a right to property to which the courts have agreed, on three occasions.

LA CAN has been fighting and reporting on this issue for quite some time but is still amazed at the cavalier attitude taken by the City Attorney as he continues to spend limited resources from shrinking city coffers. Never-mind the fact that Los Angeles has lost the EXACT same battle numerous times since the 80′s, Nuch continues to run headstrong into the weeds.

LA Times’ Sandra Hernandez has covered this story/legal fiasco from the start and has offered Nuch a bit of wise advise, stop ALREADY! Carmen, would you please stop? We’re asking you nicely, this time, but as residents of Los Angeles we could create a list of things that deserve your full attention…this ain’t one of them!