Re: Helicopters to Hunt Down SF Homeless at Golden Gate Park

Wandering Bear (wandering_bear@hotmail.com)
Fri, 30 Jan 1998 12:11:14 PST 

 They have declared war on us and are useing para-military force.It is 
time we answered them back with more than just pleas for help.Its past 
time we start forcing the issue.
 Wandering Bear
**********************************************************************

>
>FWD from various print sources November 7 & 8, 1997
>
>HELICOPTERS TO HUNT DOWN THE HOMELESS
>
>
>     SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Flower beds sprouting
>thickets of hypodermic needles, tattered tents, broken shopping
>carts and security sweeps.
>     San Francisco's showpiece Golden Gate Park, designed as a
>1,014-acre oasis of tranquility in the middle of the bustling
>city, has become the center of a political storm this week as
>Mayor Willie Brown and combative media battle over illegal
>encampments of the homeless.
>     "No one should have to fear walking through the park," the
>San Francisco Examiner said in an editorial on Thursday.
>     "Hypodermic needles shouldn't be tolerated.  Nor should tree
>houses.  Nor should trash or debris or human waste.  Can the
>arrogance, Mayor Brown. Your city needs you to do the job you
>were elected to do. Get on with it."
>     Brown and the city's media were at loggerheads all week over
>the park, a favorite refuge for the city's large homeless
>population --estimated at between 8,000 and 12,000 people-- and
>now viewed by tourists as a blighted no-go zone.
>     The mayor said on Tuesday he was furious at the media,
>following a story in the San Francisco Chronicle last week that
>described the park as a meeting place for junkies and parolees
>responsible for committing crimes and setting fires.
>     Accusing the newspaper of being alarmist and out to "spook"
>the public, Brown announced at a news conference that the park
>had been thoroughly cleaned up.
>     "We've eliminated every single encampment in Golden Gate
>Park as regularly as they've been spotted," he said.
>
>     That night, however, television cameras prowling through the
>park turned up large groups of homeless people -- traditionally
>drawn to San Francisco by its relatively warm climate and
>easy-going attitude.
>     Chagrined, Brown said on Wednesday he wanted to "erase" his
>earlier comments.
>     On Thursday, he vowed to push through a "zero tolerance"
>policy toward the park's unofficial nighttime residents -- which
>could go as far as employing military-style helicopters equipped
>with infrared heat-sensors to root out offenders.
>     "This is going to be an ongoing, constant and organized
>effort," Brown told reporters on Thursday.
>_______________________________________________________
>
>"THE WAR ON DRUGS" IS FOLLOWED BY "THE WAR ON HOMELESSNESS"
>________________________________________________________
>
>Brown Intensifies Hard-Line Tactics to Rid Park of Encampments /
>Nighttime copter checks ordered
>
>San Francisco Chronicle, November 7, 1997
>
>by Carla Marinucci, Alex Barnum, & Jaxon Van Derbeken
>
>     SAN FRANCISCO: Mayor Willie Brown turned up the heat for his
>sweeping get-tough policies on illegal encampments in Golden Gate
>Park yesterday -- even as some critics raised concerns that he
>was moving too fast and failing to address basic concerns of the
>homeless.
>     In a dramatic show of force, Brown said he has arranged for
>the police to conduct nighttime helicopter flights over the
>nearly two-square-mile park, using special equipment on loan from
>the Oakland Police Department to "map" illegal homeless
>encampments.
>     Brown said he did not know when the helicopter flyovers
>would begin, but that residents would be notified ahead of time
>and that the flights would be short.  He said he did not expect
>opposition from neighborhoods to the flights.
>     "This is not any magic," Brown said. "It eliminates the need
>for people to have to crawl into the bushes to identify the hot
>spots ... around the park.  We'll then map where the hot spots
>are (and) dispatch the appropriate persons," he said.
>     At the same time, the city redoubled its efforts on the
>ground yesterday to remove encampments.
>     Park patrols issued 16 citations to homeless people for
>sleeping in the park.  And the district attorney's office moved
>to implement a get-tough policy for repeat offenders.
>     Most of the citations issued to people who sleep in the park
>are dismissed.
>     Brown, who only earlier in the week had described the park's
>problems as "exaggerated" and "under control," today pledged "an
>ongoing, constant, organized effort, with my focused attention to
>assure the public can use the park."
>     Golden Gate Park, the city's largest park, has become a
>haven for the homeless, some of whom are drug-users and petty
>thieves.   There also have been two drug-related slayings there
>in recent months.  And used hypodermic needles turn up regularly
>on its grounds.
>     "We're not trying to relocate the lawbreakers," he said.
>"We're trying to end the lawbreaking."
>     Brown said he consulted with area clergy to ensure that
>homeless people would be offered beds and social services as the
>city steps up its crackdown.  He said he was reassured "there are
>no persons seeking assistance who are being turned away."
>     City officials are rushing to add 80 beds to its emergency
>shelter system by the end of the week.  The city had already
>begun to add 1,000 beds for homeless by winter, in anticipation
>of a particularly blustery, rainy season.
>     The Rev. Cecil Williams, pastor of Glide Memorial United
>Methodist Church, said he has offered to work with individuals in
>the park in hopes of developing "person-to-person" solutions.
>
>    But Brown's newfound zealousness on the park problems drew
>criticism from civil libertarians, homeless advocates and even
>some clergy, who said the mayor should not expect to find a
>quick-fix for the multifaceted problem of homelessness.
>     Instead of framing the problem as one that weaves together
>drug abuse, mental health, hunger and poverty, Paul Boden,
>director of the Coalition on Homelessness, said Brown appears to
>be framing homelessness in the park mainly as a law enforcement
>problem.
>     "He's only talking to the cops and the parks department,"
>Boden said. "What is worrisome is it sets the framework for the
>debate.  And it's obvious he's into demonizing people in the
>street so that he can use the cops to deal with it."
>    But park supporters, city gardeners and others who have long
>decried the level of drug abuse, crime and homelessness as a
>threat to tourists and other visitors to the city's centerpiece
>park welcomed the heightened attention.
>     "It's important that City Hall make a strong and clear
>stand," said Donna Ernston, director of the nonprofit Friends of
>Recreation and Park. "I hope they come up with a plan that is
>workable and humane.  But that doesn't alter the fact that the
>park is not appropriate housing."
>     Despite the city's show of force, several homeless people
>who had been living in the park predicted yesterday that the
>crackdown would simply move the problem onto city streets, where
>it would be more visible.
>    "Maybe some of the drug users will not shoot up in the park
>in front of the kids," said Charles Dominic, pushing a baby
>stroller that contained a teddy bear and a guitar.  He said he
>had spent the previous night on the street, being rousted several
>times by police who drove by and blared a siren at him.
>     But, he said, "in some cases, those of us living in the park
>are doing them (city residents) a service.  We're out of sight,
>out of mind."
>     Dominic, who said he does odd jobs for a local merchant,
>said officers have been respectful in dealing with the homeless.
>But he said city officials are lumping harmless people who have
>no place to live in with hardened drug users and criminals.
>   "I think they need to back up a little bit," he said. "Not
>everybody in this park is bad.  Some of us do work and are trying
>to get our lives back together."
>
>__________________________________________________________
>
>Police Chief Defends Helicopter Searches
>Neighbors, and homeless activists worry
>
>San Francisco Chronicle, November 8, 1997
>
>by Alex Barnum, Chronicle Staff Writer
>
>     San Francisco Police Chief Fred Lau moved yesterday to allay
>concerns about the city's plan to conduct nighttime helicopter
>searches for encampments in Golden Gate Park, saying they were
>justified on the grounds of "public safety."
>     Lau, who came up with the idea, said the intention was not
>to go after homeless people or to invade the privacy of nearby
>residents, but to assist in the stepped-up battle against more
>serious crimes in the city's flagship park.
>     "We've had fires in the park.  We've had drug activity.
>We've had other crime.  If people are in the deeply wooded areas,
>in places we don't know about, we need to find those and go in
>there and make some inspections," Lau said.
>      Mayor Willie Brown floated the idea this week as part of a
>new get-tough campaign on drug dealing and homeless encampments
>in the park.  The campaign has included more police sweeps, which
>resulted in 40 citations for sleeping in the park this week, and
>increasing penalties for the offense.
>      But the idea of using nighttime surveillance flights to
>spot the homeless has struck some park advocates and neighbors as
>an overreaction and conjured police-state visions of hovering
>helicopters shining spotlights and rousting the park's hapless
>residents.
>
>     The helicopter that the city had been hoping to use is
>operated by the Oakland Police Department.  It is equipped with
>special heat-detecting technology, known as forward-looking
>infrared, that can be used to find people in the dark.
>     But Oakland police officials denied the city's request
>yesterday to borrow the department's four-person, blue and silver
>Argus helicopter. But Lau said the Police Department hopes to
>borrow a similar system from the state or another law enforcement
>agency.
>     More common uses of the technology have included spotting
>earthquake victims buried in rubble, identifying smoldering "hot
>spots" after wildfires, locating assault victims and finding
>perpetrators of assault crimes.
>     But apparently, using the technology to find illegal
>homeless encampments would be a first.
>     "We don't normally go out looking for the homeless," said
>Oakland police officer Energy Lee, who is the lead pilot for
>Oakland's helicopter unit.  "We're looking for criminals."
>     Lau said the intention is not to go after homeless.  If the
>police determine that no serious crimes are being committed in
>the encampments, the information about their location will be
>turned over the city's parks departments so that they can remove
>them later.
>     "We're concerned about criminal activity and the possibility
>of fires, not the people who are merely homeless," Lau said.
>"There's no malicious intent.  It's a public safety concern."
>   Golden Gate Park has became a haven not just to the homeless,
>but to drug users and criminals.  Two drug related slayings have
>occurred in the park in recent months. And half a dozen fires,
>one of them very serious, have occurred in the park -- some think
>in retaliation against the crackdown.
>     Lau also moved to allay the concerns that the technology
>would be used to invade people's privacy or would disturb nearby
>residents.  "It's a very subtle pass over the area.  We'll draw
>some simple maps and then we'll get out of there," he said.
>     Meanwhile, some of the city's leading clergy and social
>service groups came to the defense yesterday of Brown's homeless
>programs, saying the city has made more strides in its handling
>of the homeless than any previous administration.
>     "I am convinced that we're right at the top," said the Rev.
>Cecil Williams of Glide Memorial Methodist Church.
>     Williams, along with shelter operators and members of the
>San Francisco Interfaith Council, met yesterday to talk strategy
>after the mayor's pleas for assistance in meeting the needs of
>the homeless for more beds, food, mental health services and drug
>treatment.
>     Larry Nelson, head of clinical services for Walden House,
>several blocks from Golden Gate Park, said the mayor's new focus
>on the park represented a "window of opportunity" for shelters,
>clinics and other groups to reach out to the people being
>rousted.
>______________________________________________________________
>
>San Francisco Chronicle, November 8, 1997
>LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
>
>                    HOMELESS SCAPEGOATS
>
>     Editor -- Ken Garcia's recent inflammatory knee-jerk columns
>intended to instill fear of the homeless, criminalize them and
>offer another PR-savvy superficial police crackdown on homeless
>are shameful and disgusting.  Maybe he can explain how ticketing,
>harassing, arresting and moving homeless people from the park
>(and into our neighborhoods) deals with our homeless problem.
>  Where do you suggest that homeless people go?
>     To jail, apparently.
>     If he really wanted to address the homeless situation he'd
>discuss affordable housing, drug and alcohol treatment, and
>effective job training and counseling.
>     His implication that our homeless people are the cause of
>the state of Golden Gate Park is plain wrong.
>     The homeless are scapegoats; for the true source of the
>park's downfall is not a few encampments but the choking
>automobile gridlock in the park and years of the city's neglect
>of our parks, both in terms of funding and maintenance.
>     The Chronicle is doing the city of San Francisco a
>disservice by stirring up fear and hate instead of offering
>realistic solutions and suggestions.
>
>JOSHUA SWITZKY, San Francisco
>
>
>San Francisco Examiner, Nov. 8, 1997
>
>SHELTERS TURNING HOMELESS AWAY
>     Although mayor claims enough beds exist in The City,
>officials say facilities are packed daily
>
>by Rachel Gordon & Jim Zamora
>
>     San Francisco's homeless advocates and shelter operators
> turn people away every night for lack of space -- despite Mayor
> Brown's insistence that there are enough emergency beds for the
> people who want them.
>     "They are not accepting the available resources," Brown said
> Wednesday, in reference to the outlaw campers in Golden Gate
> Park.  He made a similar assertion Thursday.
>     On Friday, Brown spokeswoman Kandace Bender clarified the
> mayor's position.
>     "There are people who live in the park, who do it by choice.
>They don't want to go to the shelters," she said.  However, she
> added, "If they come forward, we will help them find a place."
>     Maggie Donahue, who heads the homeless services division of
> the S.F. Department of Human Services, agreed with that
> assessment.  Those who are willing to work within the system and
> want to get off the street are often given first shot at the
> available shelter beds through outreach programs.
>     But The City's attempts don't always translate to room at
> the inn.
>     "If you want to access a program, you could try to get a bed
> tonight," Donahue said. "But we cannot guarantee that you'll get
> one.  On any given night, I would say that all our shelters are
> full and we have turn-aways.  We've had turn-aways for years."
>     Historically, most people are turned away because the
> shelters are operating at capacity.
>     But some of the homeless are shown the door for such reasons
> as insisting on staying with their pets, which usually isn't
> allowed, or for being drunk or high.
>     The issue of shelter capacity came up this week after Brown
>
> called for ousting squatters from Golden Gate Park.
>     District Attorney Terence Hallinan --whom Brown asked for
> a hand in rousting people from the parks via stepped-up
> prosecution of those who camp or sleep in them illegally--
> said he would get tougher, but on the condition that there are
> alternative places for the homeless to go.
>     The City funds 1,150 shelter slots for single adults and
> another 130 for families.  An additional 171 slots are
> available through charitable organizations.
>     There are an estimated 6,000 to 12,000 homeless people
> living in San Francisco.
>     The City plans to have another 324 emergency shelter beds
> available by Dec. 1 to prepare for what may be a very cold and
> rainy winter, although Donahue said that at least half the beds
> will be available two weeks before then.  But these extra
> emergency slots are scheduled to be removed by early April.
>
>     In announcing his plan to drive squatters from the park,
> Mayor Brown recommended using helicopters equipped with a
> heat-seeking device to detect campsites for eradication.
>     In August 1995, The City borrowed Oakland's helicopter and
> its heat-seeking equipment for several hours to search for a
> gunman who had wounded an officer and fatally shot a police dog.
> San Francisco Police Chief Fred Lau said the device helped
> police locate the man hiding in some underbrush.
>     The City has asked to borrow the equipment again.
>     Lau said that if Oakland turns down The City's latest
> request, the San Francisco Police Department will be looking
> into getting its own infrared equipment. He said the equipment
> will cost approximately $120,000.
>     Lau said the equipment could also be used for other
> purposes, for example, to search for bodies or lost children.
>
>END FORWARD
>
>
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