VENICE - In the latest wave of government and police repression of the homeless community, a meeting was held, a new policy adopted, signs were posted, and eviction followed. The events were marked by the participation of members of the clergy from the LAPD Religious Outreach office.
In order to justify this clearing out, the city council approved an ordinance banning vending, but also extended a previous ordinance closing the beach between midnight and 5am to include the Venice boardwalk. Advocates have opposed the beach-closing ordinance on the grounds that it was created and enforced without the required California Coastal development permit.
The LAPD's Pacific Division is further attempting to justify the removal of people by claiming that Venice is not subject to the terms of the Jones settlement, which prohibits police from enforcing the ban on sitting and sleeping on sidewalksduring certain hours.
Forcibly removed from their customary locations, the homeless were recommended to go to skid row.
From the newswire: More War Against Venice Street People by Venice Justice Committee | | Power Comes From The Barrel Of a Gun by Calvin E Moss
February 20, 2012
LOS ANGELES and RANCHO CUCAMONGA - With the United States incarcerating more people than any other country on Earth, and with the rampant abuses that occur throughout the opaque detention system, Occupy movements nationwide were eager to heed the call to "Occupy for Prisoners," which issued from prison solidarity activists who have long been in support of the Pelican Bay and Corcoran hunger strikes against solitary confinement in the special housing units, or SHUs.
A protest outside the infamous twin towers jail in Downtown LA, where the ACLU was instrumental in exposing prisoner abuse by LA County Sheriff's deputies late last year, drew large numbers of protesters, and a smaller facility at San Bernardino County's West Valley Detention Center, where inmates participated in the solidarity hunger strike during it's peak last year, likewise drew a loud demonstration.
From the newswire: Occupy for Prisoners by Rockero