Evict Albus Brooks from the Denver City Council for the urban camping ban

guiltysky:

Alright, let’s ignore Occupy for a moment. This is beyond that.

In case you’re wondering, basically, there’s a very privileged and rich force that wants to criminalize homelessness. How?

Shelter funding has been dramatically cut over the years in Denver. And a lot of homeless folks have nowhere else to go are forced to sleep on doorsteps, including business centers. If this ordnance passes, it will make it illegal to sleep out on the streets.  These people have NOWHERE else to go. Homeless shelters are over-crowded. Many organizations who help the homeless, including Colorado Collation for the Homeless have voiced concerns over this ordnance.

Albus Brooks is an outspoken proponent for the ordnance, putting business over people, calling himself a minister. He forgets the fact that Jesus Christ himself would advocate helping the homeless. This man and many of the Denver City Council have never talked to the homeless. Many of the homeless are veterans and have been neglected by the system. 

So please, sign and share!

(via adarkfuneral-deactivated2013011)

Denver council targets illegal camping; critics call it a bid to criminalize homelessness

(via denverpost)

DPD Attempts Eviction Day After Christmas

HAHA OH WOW. Michael Hancock: Prostitution-ring case taken over by feds as Denver cops get some distance

​At this point, Denver Police Department reps aren’t saying why they handed over the Denver Players prostitution investigation to the feds. But no need to exhume Nostradamus to figure it out.

After all, there are approximately a gazillion reasons why the DPD would want to put an inquiry that touches on mayor-elect Michael Hancock at arm’s length…

 

What with the department under heavy scrutiny due to a slew of police brutality cases, including those pertaining to Michael DeHerrera and Alexander Landau, Chief Gerald Whitman’s job is hanging by a thread — and aggressively pursuing Hancock would be the equivalent of handing him a pair of scissors.

And then there’s the fact that the principal figures in the case, former owners Scottie Ewing and Brenda Stewart, are already deep into the judicial pipeline. Ewing is currently serving six months home detention on a single count of tax evasion — the same crime to which Stewart has pleaded guilty. When she’s sentenced in November, expect her punishment to be in a similar range.

That means the only wrists left to slap are attached to potential johns like Hancock. And as DPD spokesman Matt Murray implies in the 7News item linked above, it doesn’t make sense to expend lotsa police resources on what amount to petty offenses.

If Hancock used Denver Players — which he energetically denies — the possible damage is much greater politically than criminally, if only because proof that he lied would cast him in the Anthony Weiner role.

Meanwhile, the Denver Post continues to publish behind-the-scenes pieces to explain why it was so late to the party on the Hancock story. Today, it’s columnist Mike Littwin’s turn — not that he headed up the effort. As he explains, his involvement mainly consisted of driving colleague Chuck Plunkett to a meeting with Ewing in an office featuring the sign “You MUST have clothing on when exiting this room.” Classy.

Littwin pretty much acknowledges that the Post’s main info against Hancock involved Ewing’s records, which didn’t feature any dates, among other issues — and that the paper went forward with its reporting due to the mayor-elect reneging on a promise to provide “unfettered” records to prove his innocence, and not due to corroborating testimony from smoking prostitutes like the ones KHOW’s Peter Boyles — who Littwin dubs a “know-nothing morning radio personality” — keeps referencing on the air.

Given these and many other factors, the DPD’s decision to let the feds take charge of the inquiry makes perfect sense, albeit due to factors the department is unlikely to admit.

More from our Follow That Story archive: “Scottie Ewing-Michael Hancock link, election day break-in & the swing king’s tangled past.”

POSSIBLE EVICTION: Denver Police Chief Robert White tells Occupy Denver to remove tarps and structures Read more: Denver Police Chief Robert White tells Occupy Denver to remove tarps and structures

Denver Police Chief Robert White issued an ultimatum Monday in a meeting with Occupy Denver protesters, saying that time was up and the city would forcibly dismantle their encampment near Civic Center Park at any moment.

The notice given at the afternoon meeting behind closed doors at police headquarters was the latest development in an ongoing battle between the Occupy Denver protesters and the city over the permanent demonstration on sidewalks that border Broadway between Colfax and 14th avenues.

Protesters have built shelters, arranged tarps, set down sleeping bags and even tied a kayak to a tree, against a city ordinance that forbids “encumbrances” on public rights of way. They’ve tried to state their case in federal court, to no avail.

On Monday, White said that the protesters have drawn a line in the sand, and the city was going to take action. He did not say when that was going to occur.

“As far as their encumbrances, they have to take them down,” White said. “There is not a lot of wiggle room. A decision was made that that needs to occur. They were asked to do it. And they decided they weren’t going to do it. Now it is on us to make that happen.”

The protesters left the headquarters disgusted, calling the meeting “incredibly unproductive” and asking if they could take the crackers, fruits and veggie trays back to their protest.

White said, “of course.”

“I reiterated that I value their First Amendment rights, but they have to value everyone else’s rights and have to abide by the ordinances of our city,” White told reporters after the meeting.

On Wednesday, the Denver Public Works Department passed out fliers with the city ordinance, saying the items must be removed by 10 a.m. the following day.

On Thursday, instead of clearing out the protesters’ belongings, White showed up and asked the protesters to remove the items. He was heckled and left.

Now, it appears another police action will be coming unless the protesters remove the items.

“We have given them a reasonable amount of time to take (their encumbrances) down and they decided not to do that,” White said, adding that he is not going to say when the action will occur.

“They have to take it down, there is not a lot of wiggle room there,” he said. “Now, it’s upon us to make sure that happens. Whatever strategy we use to do that, that is something that we have to figure out how to do that and do that effectively.”

White said after the items are removed, if the protesters want to talk about their next move, “I am more than willing.”

Patricia Hughes, who splits her time between Occupy Denver and being a nurse, said that the structures are shelters for people who have nowhere else to go.

“You take away the structures, you are sentencing people to death,” she said — adding that homeless shelters are not an option.

“People are safer at Occupy Denver than they are at the shelters, where they could be raped or stabbed,” she said.

But advocates for the homeless who operate the city’s nine shelters say that is not what occurs in the shelters that are segregated by gender.

“We are confident that our shelter community provides a safe and secure atmosphere for our homeless to be out of the cold and the elements,” said Revekka Balancier, spokeswoman for the Denver Human Services. “We know they are committed to the well-being of their guests and their staff provides oversight at all times.”

Denver mayor seeks review of city homeless shelters following community concerns

For anyone who says Occupy Denver hasn’t done anything effective: 

DENVER — Denver Mayor Michael Hancock says he’s requesting a comprehensive review of Denver’s homeless shelters following concerns raised by businesses, residents, Occupy Denver protesters and the homeless community.

He said Friday that an outside agency or agencies will be sought to analyze the locations, conditions and capacity of city shelters.

He said Friday that an outside agency or agencies will be sought to analyze the locations, conditions and capacity of city shelters. He also wants a review of shelters’ referral processes, services, client restrictions, average lengths that people stay in shelters, exit strategies and alternative options.

The city has a plan known as Denver’s Road Home for helping people out of homelessness. Denver officials say shelters are just one, short-term strategy that must be coupled with long-term strategies of transitional housing, permanent affordable housing, support services and other tactics.