Operation: Harass the Homeless
Vanessa Houk, 02.04.2010 00:45
Years ago I wrote this piece and posted it here on Rogue IMC. Mike Winters and the Sheriff's office continue to do these "homeless sweeps" the most current one being this morning. I'm re-posting this one.
Operation: Harass The Homeless
Local police agencies "swept through" the Bear Creek Greenway on Monday March 14, 2005 in an effort to move the homeless out of the area and off public lands.
Operation Harass the Homeless
by Vanessa Houk
Sheriff Mike Winters maintains that it is not a crime to be homeless in Jackson County and yet at the same time, on Monday morning he spearheaded a campaign to break up 40 homeless camps along the Bear Creek Greenway. For seven and a half hours, approximately 100 officers from 11 agencies, including a private helicopter forced the homeless off public lands.
Law enforcement say they were reacting to the recent rape of a 15 year old girl who was attacked on the greenway on March 4. One of the suspects in this case has been arrested. Police are not sure if the other two men involved are transients.
The Mail Tribune reported that during the sweep, 19 people were cited for various offenses including trespassing and prohibited camping. Twenty out of 22 people had criminal backgrounds. They also reported that they referred people to homeless shelters. The 15 year old girl was turned away from a shelter on the night of the rape.
While the gospel mission is not full, many area homeless do not want to stay there. Many have drug or alcohol problems and the mission requires a code of behavior that some are unable to meet.
No reports of how much money local agencies spent on the homeless sweep on Monday have been released.
e-mail:: sunriver@gmail.com
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what happened this morning? 02.04.2010 - 01:19 Vanessa, do you have any details about what happened and if so where? Liisa>  Homepage:: http://
Greenway 02.04.2010 - 15:21 Yesterday morning at about 10 am we saw 2-3 sheriff vehicles and officers standing in the area near the bus stop across from the Wellsprings. From the quick look we got, it appeared that they were still "sweeping" the area contrary to the Daily Tidings information which said the sweep was occurring the day before. Vanessa Houk> e-mail:: sunriver@gmail.com
Homepage:: http://
Adding... 02.04.2010 - 15:25 I just want to clarify that we had also seen them the day before, so I believe they did a 48 hour sweep which is not what they have typically done in years past. This seems even heavier handed. Also the cynic in me wonders if the new construction going on across the street in that Lithia Springs Resorts and Gardens, if there is any sort of a connection. That is just my own personal speculation. Vanessa Houk> e-mail:: sunriver@gmail.com
Homepage:: http://
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