How many cops does it take to arrest an 82-year-old woman? Roughly 50; according to the actions of the Seattle Port Authority last Wednesday.

Around a dozen activists and residents of the Nickelsville homeless encampment were arrested on trespassing charges yesterday, after refusing to vacate Terminal 107, where they have been located since July.

A little after 1pm, port police sporting “Civil Disturbance” patches marched in, military style, to clear the camp of any remaining residents who hadn’t left already (and to ensure maximum possible intimidation). By one count there were as many as 49 police officers, not including the park rangers waiting at the perimeter.

Those who chose to stand their ground at Nickelsville were handcuffed and escorted to a waiting paddy wagon (it was actually a converted school bus, but really what’s the difference anyway?). They were then dropped off at the next terminal and told not to return. Meanwhile, police went through the camp and confiscated necessities such as food, clothing and a generator.

Why? Was this really necessary, or was it just a blatant show of dominance over the poor? To say that 49 officers is excessive force would be an understatement. Having three police officers escort and arrest an 82-year-old woman, or a man who walks with a cane is not only excessive, but it would be downright laughable if it weren’t so sad. Couldn’t these 49 officers be out protecting the peace? How many violent crimes could have been stopped while these officers were preoccupied taking away peoples home?

But then this comes as no surprise; the ports refusal to allow Nickelsville to remain on parkland is merely a reflection of the city’s violent anti-encampment attitude spearheaded by Mayor Nickels. And yes, I do mean violent. By not only denying people a place to live, but by physically forcing them out of a community, the city is conducting an act of violence against the poor.

“Why?” was the question being asked again and again by the now displaced Nickelodians. There is just not enough space in the city’s emergency shelter system to accommodate the number of homeless individuals in Seattle, yet that is where they are being told to go. The city is simply pushing people around, forcing them to go from once temporary location to another, without offering any real solutions.

Camps such as Nickelsville offer people a safe space, free of drugs and alcohol, where they can build a sense of community that will never be found in a shelter. Yet the city refuses to recognize this, choosing instead to portray encampments like this as dirty shantytowns, with talk of piles of garbage and human waste.

For now they have secured a space at St. Andrews Episcopal Church, but after a week they are out on the street. The city needs to recognize the important role that tent cities such as Nickelsville play for people who can’t or don’t want to be a part of an overcrowded and dangerous shelter system. Until they do so, the camps will simply continue to be moved from one part of town to another, straining the already non-existent resources of the poor, forcing them further into poverty.

When asked why he was willing to be arrested for this, one handcuffed resident responded simply, “Because this is something that I believe in”.

Now if only Greg Nickels would believe in it too…

Category: Blogger, News, Nickelsville

Written by: Nick