Hand Off the Poor!

Hands Off the Poor! Stop Police Harassment!

Join the Portland Coalition Against Poverty (PCAP) in presenting a demand to the Portland Police Bureau and Clean and Safe to stop targetting and harassing poor and houseless people in our community. Over 100 people have been swept from underneath Portland's bridges in the last week. Help show that Portland will not tolerate harassment or arrest of a community based on their economic or housing status. Help Get the Word Out!

When: Wednesday Jul 09, 2008 at 5:00 PM
Followed by free food and a community forum

Where: North Park Blocks - at the Elephant
W Burnside and Park
Portland, Oregon 97205

More Info: On Tuesday June 24th, following the regular meal service under the Burnside
Bridge, Portland Police awakened and dispersed over 50 people from above and
beneath the Bridge. On Wednesday June 25th, the police and Clean and Safe
awakened and dispersed 16-20 people from the East side of the Morrison Bridge
and 10-14 people from the East side of the Hawthorne Bridge. The people were
removed with no alternative sleeping locations given. Alan Pyrah, who was
sleeping on the Burnside bridge at the time of the sweep, asked an officer
where he was expected to go. The unnamed officer replied, "Go across the
river." Pyrah went to sleep under the Morrison Bridge, and was disturbed
again the following evening. These aggressive acts on the part of the Portland
Police highlight the continued contempt of the Portland Police bureau for the
houseless and impoverished.

The police awakened the sleeping citizens using foghorns and boots, and gave
them two minutes to collect their possessions. Clean and Safe, the security
branch of the Portland Business Alliance, had brought large dumpsters with
them, and all possessions not collected within the two minute limit were thrown
into the dumpsters. A Portland Police officer stood by with a timer.

This method of dispersal is a break from standard Portland Police policy:
Ordinarily, possessions are seized and taken to a central storage facility,
where they can be claimed the next day. Additionally, city policy requires the
police to give 24 hour posted notice before enforcing the no-camping law.

These dispersals are in accordance with the regular pattern of ticketing and
harassment during the summer festival season. Interviews conducted at several
nightly feeds immediately following the raids confirmed the worst suspicions of
houseless advocates.

Larry Reynolds, a disabled veteran who sleeps outdoors, said, "They're
targeting homeless people...taking people's gear and throwing it away. They're
not posting notices or inviting social service agencies [as specified under the
no-camping law] as they do it."

Two weeks before the Waterfront Blues Festival, the city has begun to increase
pressure on people sleeping outdoors. It began with verbal warnings, and has
been followed by ticketing and dispersal on a nightly or bi-nightly basis. This
police aggression is intended to insure that attendees of the Blues Festival
will not be confronted by the City's issues of poverty. Cheyenne, a houseless
person affected by the dispersals, said, "It's the rich and the middle class
stealing [sleep] from the poor."

In response to the targeting of poor and houseless people in the community, a
demonstration is planned for Wednesday, July 9th. It will start in the North
Park Blocks at 5pm. "Hands Off the Poor," a demonstration organized by the
Portland Coalition Against Poverty demands an immediate end to police
harassment and arrest of poor and houseless people in the community.

Please Distribute Widely

For more information or to help out - Please Contact us by email at
PDXCAP@gmail.com or call 503. 839. 3670