One Billion are Rising Today – February 14, 2013 Marks V-Day’s Worldwide Rise Up

Today is V-Day’s 15th Anniversary,  and they “are inviting ONE BILLION women and those who love them to WALK OUT, DANCE, RISE UP, and DEMAND an end to this violence. ONE BILLION RISING will move the earth, activating women and men across every country. V-Day wants the world to see our collective strength, our numbers, our solidarity across borders.”

LA CAN members joined One Billion Rising in Downtown LA today – a rising against street harassment.  In Pershing Square, dozens gathered to sing, dance, rise up and demand an end to violence against women.

LA CAN has been a part of V-Day since 2006 and is proud to be an ongoing part of the Vagina Monologues and now One Billion Rising.  We thank the organizers of the Pershing Square event for ensuring Downtown LA was included in this worldwide action!

“One billion women violated is an atrocity.  One billion women dancing is a revolution.“

The December 2012/January 2013 Community Connection is NOW AVAILABLE!

Click on the Photo above to read the December 2012/January 2013.

You can also view a high resolution PDF version HERE.

MEDIA ADVISORY 

TENANTS PROTEST SALE AND POSSIBLE DEMOLITION OF BUILDING NEXT TO METRO LINE:

RESIDENTS DEMAND PEOPLE-ORIENTED TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT THAT PROTECTS LOW INCOME HOUSING

WHAT: Press Conference:  Tenants protesting potential displacement to present an open letter to all potential building owners informing them that the tenants in the building, and surrounding community, will not be moved without a fight

DATE:  Thursday, November 8, 2012

TIME: 10:00 AM

LOCATION: 2913 S. Flower Street, Los Angeles 90007

 PARTICIPANTS: LA Human Right to Housing Collective and its members, other low income residents living in the Expo Line Transit Corridor, Los Angeles Community Action Network (LACAN), People Organized for Westside Renewal (POWER), Union de Vecinos, and ¡Comunidad Presente!

BACKGROUND:  Transit dependent residents living in the “University Park” neighborhoods of South Los Angeles have benefited from the long awaited Expo Line, receiving accessible transportation to Downtown Los Angeles and all its other connections.  However, low income families like the families living at 2913 S. Flower Street – a building directly in front of the newly constructed railway — are now constantly threatened with displacement due to land speculation and profiteering.  Big developers are aggressively trying to buy out the low income tenants to make way for market rate housing, high-end boutiques, restaurants and the like.

 The tenants living at 2913 S. Flower Street have fought for more than 15 years for their homes, withstanding the bulldozers, the noise, the rattling of trains and previous threats of displacement.  Today, as they stand to possibly benefit from the rewards of the transit development, their homes are threatened by speculators.   The very low-income residents who need public transit the most are the first to be pushed out of Transit Oriented Development (TOD) corridors in a county-wide trend to redevelop these newly “transit rich” areas.  Ironically, demolishing affordable housing along these corridors reduces the ridership of public transit.

 The residents of 2913 S. Flower Street are calling a press conference to announce a campaign to protect their homes, their community, and demand “people oriented” transit development along the Expo Line and all current and planned transportation corridors in Los Angeles.   Tenants have prepared an open letter to any potential new owner of their building to put them on notice that residents in this building, and this community, will not be moved without a fight.

VISUALS: Tenants and neighbors holding signs; Expo Line trains; Façade of 2913 S. Flower: a 33 unit Affordable Housing Building; Downtown Los Angeles Skyline; Local Families with Children

Spanish speakers and interpretation will be readily available.

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Message to the City of Los Angeles: Protect Our Health, Clean Our Streets, Don’t Destroy Our Personal Property

The City of Los Angeles continues to play a dangerous game of “legal chicken” with the health of Skid Row residents. Over a number of years, Los Angeles has removed trash receptacles, portable toilets and just about anything that could provide a bit of humane comfort to those marginally housed. The LAPD simultaneously employed a strong-arm approach — taking and destroying items they deemed were “items of comfort”  and insisting that those things make it easier for people to live on the streets.  They forget to add, however, that shelters, transitional housing, and permanent supportive housing is maxed out and literally there is no room at the inn.

Unfortunately this is not a new occurrence in Los Angeles. Dating back to the 80′s Los Angeles has been engaged in the  practice of taking personal possessions, destroying them and  winding up in court as a result. Each time the court has reinforced Constitutional protections and has given Los Angeles clear instructions on how to enforce issues related to health and safety concerns, without illegally taking personal property. The injunction issued by The Honorable Philip S. Gutierrez is no different.

Los Angeles’ response to the recent injunction has been mean spirited and misguided, namely the outright refusal to clean streets and pick-up trash. Community residents have long cleaned Skid Row streets in the absence of consistent cleaning and trash collection. OG’s in Service have long enlisted the support of residents, arming them with colorfully painted trash cans and brooms, in hopes of supplementing the City’s infrequent collection. Residents forced to live on the street also clean their areas and place debris in the reach of skip loaders in the event they actually show up.

But these days they rarely show up. That is until the Department of Public Health showed up and cited the City of Los Angeles for numerous health code violations.

Police Commission Finds that Dale Garrett Shooting Last Year was Not Within Policy – But True Justice for Police Murders is Hard to Find

Dale Garrett was shot and killed by LAPD in the Skid Row community last year at this time – the anniversary of the police murder is this coming Thursday.  LA CAN members and other community members will be holding a vigil in his honor calling for the end of police murders and abuse, and accountability for officers.  The vigil will take place on 5th and Spring Streets at noon – PLEASE JOIN US!

Two weeks ago, the Police Commission finally heard the results of the use of force investigation.  Dale was actually shot twice in the back.  Just as witnesses – many of whom were LA CAN members who came forward to provide testimony – had earlier claimed, the shooting was found to be out of protocol by the Commission – though Chief Beck and the Inspector General found it to be within protocol. The Commissioners found:

“In conclusion, Detective A and B’s failure to follow proper protocols or to operate in a manner consistent with Department tactical training, by having and communicating an operational/tactical plan, to include support personnel, unjustifiably and substantially deviated from approved Department training.”

“In conclusion, the BOPC found Detective A’s lethal use of force to be out of policy.”

Although the Commission took this unusual action to overrule the internal report (they find the large majority of shootings to be justified, though communities know this isn’t true), Chief Beck gets to decide the discipline for these officers.  And the LA Times reported recently that Beck has not been strongly disciplining officers for unjustified shootings – otherwise known as police murders.

While LAPD continues to enforce the most minor violations against poor residents in downtown LA -  sending people to jail for sitting on the sidewalk – their officers are allowed to commit major violations, even kill people, without any consequence.  LA CAN believes criminal charges should be pursued in this case and we will continue to demand police accountability throughout our community – to the policy makers and on the streets.  Stay tuned.

Joel Rubin of the LA Times reported on this today:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lapd-shooting-20120507,0,5626899.story

The public version of the use of force report is here:

http://www.lapdonline.org/assets/pdf/042-11_%20Central%20_OIS.pdf

Remembering Rampart, Remembering the Rebellion, Many Changes, Little Improvement

Written by Leonardo Vilchis and Becky Dennison, on behalf of the Los Angeles Human Right to Housing Collective (of which LA CAN is a member organization)

As so many reflected on the 1992 civil unrest last week, we heard stories of fundamental change in the LAPD and how conditions have changed so much within the City of LA since then. However, given the experiences in our communities in Downtown, South and East LA, we couldn’t disagree more. The fact that there have been changes does not mean that there have been improvements. Extreme poverty, lack of meaningful employment, a continuously growing housing and homelessness crisis, a deepening economic and social inequality, and continuing police abuse and racial profiling reflect the same conditions that spurred the uprising in 1992. At the same time we are still dealing with the self-righteous arrogance in LAPD that made Daryl Gates famous. Last week the Times reported that Chief Beck was giving only “conditional reprimands” to officers committing major violations, including unjustified police shootings (sound familiar?), causing discord among some Commissioners and the public. Yet, just one week later spurred by the 20-year anniversary, the same media outlets report on the supposed “changed” LAPD.

It is fitting, then, that the public meeting on the future of the Old Rampart Station also happened last week. The Old Rampart Station, a symbol of police abuse and arrogance, has been abandoned for the last 4 years and is a painful reminder of LAPD’s past that is worsened by the abandonment, neglect in and around the property, and a total disregard for the community that surrounds it. When the LA Human Right to Housing Collective chose the Old Rampart Station for its International Human Rights Day actions last December, it was selected as a symbolic representation of much that is wrong in the City of Los Angeles: the site of some of the worst and most pervasive police abuses in LA’s history; an abandoned and blighted City-owned property that could instead be used for human rights promoting purposes; the City’s budget priority of more than 50% of its budget going toward LAPD when housing, libraries, schools, parks, and other human rights programs are seeing devastating cuts; and the list could go on and on. The Housing Collective created a human rights camp that cold weekend in December to call attention to the abandonment and to demonstrate to the City and LAPD that this site should be used for community serving purposes. What is the city’s response? Rampart is planned to be the new headquarters for LAPD’s Metro Division, including SWAT.

There are two problems with the Metro/SWAT proposal. First, the community was unaware of these plans. There was no community input process in deciding what should happen at a space that holds such painful memories of crime and abuse. In fact, the LAPD representative at last week’s public meeting admitted there had been no community involvement, simply stating they weren’t required to do it. Second, what is the message sent by establishing a SWAT training ground in a community that was victimized and abused by the Police? The site will be turned into a militarized zone controlled by the police without providing any community services. The self-righteous arrogance of LAPD and the complicity of the city with its plans ignore the community’s needs and reaffirm the role of the police as an occupying force in Rampart. Certainly nothing has changed, and most definitely we see no improvement. The police plans and policies do not take into consideration community’s needs and desires.

Since January, local residents and other concerned Angelinos have been working to Reclaim Rampart – to ensure that community-serving purposes are included in any plans for the site and that the site is not solely used to house Metro Division, which will not serve the local community. Community members are also demanding transparency and more comprehensive public input as the City moves forward with its plans. The hearing was the first step, but much more work is needed by local residents, City Officials, and other concerned residents to be sure that LAPD is accountable to the community on this infamous site, and fully accountable to our communities across Los Angeles. That will be a change to welcome and a certain improvement for this community.

LA Human Right to Housing Collective Reclaims Rampart!

This past weekend, members of the Los Angeles Human Right to Housing Collective, honoring International Human Rights Day, revamped and repurposed the Old LAPD Rampart Police station through clean ups and offering services.

We will be posting a full wrap up of the event, including photos and videos, shortly.

For now, check out this coverage:

“LA collective seeks to repurpose Rampart police station” (KPCC)

“Vecinos renuevan expuesto policial: Bustcan utilizar este espacio para uso de residentes del área” (La Opinión)

“Demonstrators want to reclaim Rampart Station” (TheEastsiderLA.com)

National Civil and Human Rights Groups sound the alarm on City Attorney Carmen Trutanich

From the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative website:

“National civil and human rights organizations with a long collective history of defending the right of political expression and challenging the targeting of movement leaders submitted a strongly worded appeal letter to the Los Angeles City Attorney on behalf of Mr. Steve Richardson, a community organizer with the LA Community Action Network (LA CAN) based in the Skid Row community of downtown LA.

Over the past 16 months, Mr. Richardson has been booked, processed and jailed four times on the same troubling charges arising out of one non-violent act of protest.  The letter of appeal in full is attached.”

Civil and Human Rights Organizations that have signed on to the letter:
American Civil Liberties Union – Southern California
Center for Constitutional Rights
International Alliance of Inhabitants
National Economic and Social Rights Initiative
National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty
USA-Canada Alliance of Inhabitants
U.S. Human Rights Network

Click HERE to read the letter.

LAPD Continues Criminalization Efforts against LA CAN to Squash Organizing and Silence Dissent, but We Won’t Let that Happen

On Wednesday, July 6th, just hours after the conviction of General Dogon was announced, LA CAN and partners including Dream Team LA, Comunidad Presente, Hippie Kitchen and others gathered for our monthly protest of the supposed Skid Row Neighborhood Watch Walk.  Pete White, LA CAN Co-Director, was distinctly targeted and arrested during the protest.

This Walk is organized by the Central City East Association, a business improvement district which promotes criminalization of homelessness and the increased policing and enforcement under the Skid Row Safer Cities Initiative.  Often, City Attorney Trutanich, Councilmember Jan Perry, other business leaders, and media attend the walk.  What is conspicuously missing every month is Skid Row residents.

LA CAN and our partners decided to begin a monthly protest of this event for several reasons, including: 1) the City Attorney’s crackdown on protest and dissent which has impacted all of the participating organizations; 2) the lack of resident involvement in the Walk – instead using the walk to demonize and degrade residents; and 3) to protest the Safer Cities Initiative (SCI), since the Walkers are generally accompanied by several SCI officers who have made thousands of arrests of poor, mostly Black residents as part of the Initiative.

We have been doing this protest since March, but this month the response from LAPD was quite different and more intense.  Although there were only 10-12 people, mostly business reps, participating in the Walk, there were dozens of LAPD officers on hand.  Officers gave conflicting information to legal observers about our right to be there and our right to protest on public property.

LAPD at 6th and Gladys, a block before arrest

Although we were simply exercising our first amendment right on a public sidewalk that was not closed to the public nor occupied by a permit obtained by CCEA, Pete White was arrested for what LAPD claimed was disrupting a public meeting.  After the arrest, an order to disperse was given and all others were threatened with arrest.

A community partner who also attended the protest of the “Safety Walk” posted this video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_4qOHHall8&feature=channel_video_title

LA CAN leadership has been targeted with arrests, detentions, false charges, degrading comments and public statements by LAPD, and much more because of our opposition to Safer Cities and our active resistance to criminalization efforts.  We believe this arrest, and especially this ridiculous charge, is unjust like all the rest and we will fight it all the way.  Pete has been released from jail and his first court date is scheduled for July 27th.  Stay tuned for ways to support.

 

General Dogon Unfairly Convicted and City Attorney Releases Lies

On Wednesday, July 6th, a jury found LA CAN Organizer General Dogon guilty of 9 of 11 trumped up misdemeanor charges that supposedly took place during approximately 6 seconds of a 20 minute, non-violent protest in City Council Chambers last May.  Although video evidence countered all charges, the jury decided against us – shocking but not surprising since the criminal justice system often has disastrous and unfair results for Black men.

The fight is not over.  The sentencing hearing is next up and we are organizing and preparing now.

However, we also want to point out that the City Attorney is continuing to perpetrate the officers’ lies in their press release (one might question why they would do a press release on a misdemeanor trial to begin with – only supporting our theory that this case is a political and personal attack on Dogon, LA CAN and the Right to Housing Collective).  The City’s entire description of events (bolded by LA CAN in release printed below) is exactly the two assault charges that the jury DID NOT CONVICT on.  Dogon was found NOT GUILTY on two charges of assault on an officer – those charges were directly tied to these lies about digging nails into an officer and pinning an officer against a wall.  In fact, it was Dogon who was the victim of use of force.  The City’s lies and continued degradation of General Dogon, an amazing human rights organizer and human being, should not be tolerated by anyone.

Dogon’s personal statement reflecting on the trial is included at the bottom of this post. Stay tuned for updated information.

Press Release from the Los Angeles City Attorney:

THURSDAY, JULY 7, 2011 LOS ANGELES MAN CONVICTED OF CLASHING WITH OFFICERS IN CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS LOS ANGELES – Following a five day jury trial, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury yesterday found a Los Angeles man guilty on multiple criminal counts for his role in a disturbance in City Council Chambers last May. Deputy City Attorney Brad Rothenberg successfully prosecuted the case. Following less than an hour of deliberation, the jury found Steve Richardson guilty of eight counts of resisting arrest and one count of battery on a peace officer. Richardson was remanded into custody and sentencing has been scheduled for July 14 in Department 52 of the Los Angeles Superior Court. Richardson could face up to 9 years in county jail. On May 21, 2010, the City Council was meeting to take up the issue of a rent increase freeze. About 40 protesters refused to leave after Councilman Zine asked the sergeant-at-arms to clear the chamber.As officers were escorting the protesters out, Richardson started pushing civilians into police officers and charging against the officers.Officers then attempted to arrest the defendant when he started to resist, grabbing an officer’s hand and burying his nails into the officer’s hand. Richardson also swung his arms and body at officers, pinning one officer against a wall, ripping another officer’s uniform, and kicking an additional officer.Richardson continued fighting even after being cuffed and taken into custody.  Note: Red print added by LA CAN – all of these made-up events and lies were linked to the two charges that Dogon for which he was found NOT GUILTY.

A message from General Dogon, upon his release from jail on July 7th:

In regards to the May 21,2010 incident in city hall, I’d like to take this time to personally thank the LA CAN members, L A Right to Housing Collective members (especially Union de Vecinos), Hippie Kitchen, and all other comrades and supporters for their continued and outstanding support throughout this trial. Thank you for turning out to fight for a just and needed cause.  We know that anybody that stands up and speaks out against state oppression is a target of state oppression.  Me and the other two other LA CAN members that were arrested that day understood this fact.  Although the city dropped all charges against us in the beginning, they later re-filed 11 criminal charges against me only after I had torn up and threw back a violence prevention certificate that was given to me by the city.  It wasn’t worth the paper it was written on after the violence they used against us.

During the trial, the city presented their case which only consisted of only cops for witnesses.  Because every officer that took the stand in support of the city was caught up in lies and perjured themselves on the stand during questioning, we felt that all of the video that was supplied by the media and Right to Housing Collective members totally contradicted their statements so badly that we (my lawyer John Raphling and I) decided not to present a defense due to this fact. The city had the burden to prove their case in which we felt they did not do.  The video clearly showed that “IT IS WHAT IT IS.”  And that reality contradicted the statements of police over and over again. We know that there is a risk of putting on witnesses, as much as it is a risk to not put on witnesses.  John and I have made many legal decisions together – including the ones that got me free from a 25-to-life sentence a couple of years ago when LAPD targeted me because of my organizing.  We decided on this strategy and believe it was the best decision.

Obviously, the jury didn’t see anything the way we saw it and lived it.  Yesterday, July  6, the jury found me guilty of 9 of the 11 counts. Although we don’t agree with this verdict, there is still a lot of work to be done.  The next court date is July 14 (although it will likely be postponed a couple of weeks) and we plan to pump up the heat.  We‘ll be calling on folks to continue this fight together.  Once again I’d  like to thank everyone for their continued support during this time……………all power to the people.

general dogon