ORLANDO POLICE RENEW HARASSMENT, SURVEILLANCE OF FOOD NOT BOMBS
Starting a few weeks after the Orlando City Council passed the "large groups feeding" ordinance, which, effectively, bans Food Not Bombs and others from sharing food inside downtown parks, we have been conducting our weekly picnics at the corner of Pine Street and Osceola Avenue. (This is about a block from the picnic area at Lake Eola Park, where we had been sharing for more than a year.) For the first time since August, an intrepid band of Orlando police, five of them under the peerless leadership of Sgt. Susan Brown (OPD ID #8589), showed up at our Nov. 15 sharing, allegedly because of a citizen complaint. At first the cops just photographed us, but later they claimed we were blocking the sidewalk and threatened the homeless with arrest if they didn't move.
The fuzzy-wuzzies even called the owner of the property next to the public street curb from which we share to report that some of our activities were taking place on his property. Clearly, this was done in an attempt to hinder our activities. It seems that homeless people (what nerve they have!) were sitting (oh, the horror!) on a short wall separating his property from the edge of the sidewalk while they ate, and (what an abomination in the eyes of God and man!) a few pots of soup, other victuals and a couple crates of plates and utensils were placed on his property (near the wall) while we served up the food.
This was a strange turn of events. We had been at this location for three and half months before the owner and his property manager even learned of our presence, and no problems had occurred--other than one 911 ambulance call when a four-months pregnant developmentally disabled homeless woman fell in front of an office across the street and began cramping (the cops gave her a trespass warning as the EMTs were readying her for the trip to the hospital!). Considering that in all that time, none of us ever noticed any "No Trespassing" signs, it doesn't seem that before Nov. 15 either the property owner or his property manager had been concerned about nefarious evil-doers disturbing the sanctity of his domain with free vegan food and donated bread. Maybe it's all the black apparel worn by FNBers that alarmed them. We would have been happy to talk with the property owner when he eventually did show up, but he wasn't even willing to listen to us when we tried to explain that OFNB is a collective, non-hierarchical group and he would need to address us as a group.
The police showed up again on Nov. 22 for more harassment and surveillance and to intimidate the homeless people with whom we share (we noticed that our numbers were down last week; we had so much leftover food that we took it to the 30-50 people now camping at Sylvia Lane, the city's designated homeless feeding site).
The head cop last week (according to a source from the ACLU) was one Capt. Larry Zweig, who parked his unmarked vehicle with tinted windows across the street from us (on Pine) and sat in it watching us, except for one instance when he threatened homeless people with arrest for allegedly blocking the sidewalk. An FNB member coaxed a reporter for a local radio station, Natasha of WDBO-AM 580, into walking over to Capt. Zweig's vehicle so she could see up-close that he was observing us and in the hopes that this would encourage her to ask him a few questions, but she declined this opportunity for investigative journalism. She preferred to accept the canned response from the OPD's Public Information Officer, Sgt. Barbara Jones, that the agency had no comment at this time. Capt. Zweig should be familiar to local homeless advocates as the officer in charge of the recent forced evictions of homeless indivdiuals from the S.R. 408 underpass and from the area around the CSX railroad tracks in Orlando's Lake Lucerne neighborhood. Four other cops, each with their own vehicle, stood on the Osceola Avenue side keeping an eye on us and having a coffee-klatsch. We're sorry that we didn't have any coffee and dumpstered Krispy Kremes to share with them.
It may be that the renewed interest in Orlando Food Not Bombs stems from the city's on-going desire to keep the homeless out of the rapidly gentrifying Lake Eola area (in Orlando's Thornton Park neighborhood). It also could be retaliation by Orlando officials, such as Mayor Buddy Dyer and Commissioner Patty Sheehan (whose district includes Thornton Park), for OFNB's participation in the federal lawsuit that the ACLU filed against the city in October over the "large group feedings" ordinance.
This upsurge in police monitoring of our group raises issues of civil liberties and how the city uses its police resources. Orlando has set an all-time record for murders within the city–44 so far this year–but still uses its police manpower to actively harass a group, made up mostly of teenagers and college-age people, that shares food with the homeless. It also can spare officers for an undercover squad to arrest homeless people for the terrible crime of panhandling outside of the 36 boxes (blue lines painted on downtown sidewalks) that the city has set up for that purpose. Of course, it probably would be naive to think that officials' concerns are about the murder victims--mostly people from Orlando's poor African American neighborhoods--rather than just its effect on Orlando's image as a prime tourist destination, which is another factor in its continuous crackdown on the homeless.
Below is the Orlando Police Department information report on events at our Nov. 15 sharing.
Note: Possibly because of the rain, no cops Orlando showed up at our Nov. 29 sharing.
Information Report
Date Created: 11/17/2006
Case No: 2006-431429
Primary Victim: None
Date/Time Reported: 11/15/2006 17:05 Hrs.
Date/Time Occurred: 11/15/2006 17:05 Hrs.
Date/Time Between: 11/15/2006 17:05 Hrs.
Location Occurred: E PINE ST
Cross Street: S OSCEOLA AV
Grid: GRID#-1347
Sub-Grid: GRID 1347D
District: D-I1
Dispatch Incident Type: SUSP[i]C[iou]S PER[son]
Unit No:I790
Reporting Officer: 8589 BROWN, SUSAN, B,
Primary Unit Assigned to Investigate: Records
Apv Ofcr:
Scene Processed by:
Assigned Investigators:
Special Circumstance:
Event Log NO
Case Status: Unassigned
Disposition: INACTIVE
DispDate: 11/16/2006
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Distribution
None
Case Narrative
On 11-06 (sic)-2006 at approximately 1727 hours, Officer David Alban #14608 and myself responded to the intersection of Pine Street and Osceola Avenue regarding a complaint concerning a homeless feeding. Officer Julie Myers #5456 and Officer Brett Licciardello #1898, also responded.
Upon arrival I observed approximately 40 people congregated in the sidewalk and the property located on the southeast corner of the intersection. Some of the people in line waiting to be fed were completely blocking the sidewalk in violation of city ordinance 43.06 (J). As I approached the crowd to direct them to clear a path on the sidewalk, a female, who identified herself as Suzanne Peters, made contact with me and asked if there was something that she could do for me. Peters, later advised that she a member of the legal counsel that represents the group, [Orlando] "Food Not Bombs" that was sponsoring the feeding. I told Peters that the people blocking the sidewalk were in violation of city ordinance and that they needed to move. I then issued a verbal warning to the effected (sic) part of the group and told them they needed to clear a path on the sidewalk or they would be subject to arrest. The members of the crowd complied.
At this point I noticed several members of the group that (sic) were providing the food were set up on the north side of the private property located at 103 South Osceola Avenue. I asked Peters if she had permission from the property owner to occupy their property. She advised that she did not know if the owner would object or not as she [had] never made contact with him/her. I then responded to the west side of the building at 103 South Osceola and noticed a reality (sic) sign listing the business Wilson Management [G]roup with a phone number. I called the number and left a message in hopes (sic) to (sic) reach someone who controlled the property. Within a few minutes the property manager, Wayne Benson, called me back and advised that he was fairly certain the property owner would not want the homeless feedings taking place on his property. Benson indicated, however, that he was not comfortable authorizing [the] Orlando Police Department with (sic) making (sic) arrests for trespass until he could make contact with the property owner. I advised Benson that I would take photographs of the group and met (sic) with him at his office the following business day to show him how the property was being effected (sic) by the feedings and to discuss his options. Benson agreed with this course of action.
I then remained on scene to monitor the feeding. A short time later a cra pulled into the parking lot at 103 South Osceola and parked. I made contact with the driver, who identified himself as Robert R. Evans and stated [that] he was the property owner. Evans initially indicated that he was not sure he wanted the group ejected from his property and asked what other options were available to the group. I advised him [that] there was a ["]permanent["] site set up for homeless feedings on Sylvia Lane, near City Hall. I further advised him [that] the Sylvia Lane site did not require a permit and [that] there were no time restrictions on when feedings could occur. Evans advised me [that] he wanted to go talk to representatives of the group and walked over to meet with them. Within a few minutes, Evans returned and indicated that the people he spoke to could not be reasoned with and [that] he wanted them ejected from his property. The other officer and I ordered everyone that (sic) was on his property to leave and they immediately complied. Evans provided me with a business card.
Peters requested and was given the name and employee number of every Orlando Police Officer that (sic) responded to the incident. Peters was also provided with the incident number and instructions on how to obtain a copy of the report. Lieutenant Favorit #2590 was notified of this incident and he authorized a Trespass Authorization to be completed if Evans would agree to it. When I meet with Benson on 11-16-2006, I will suggest this course of action and explain the authorization form, so [that] he and Evans can consider it.
This report is for informational purposes only.
kl/11194/11-16-06/0230 hours/n
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PRINCIPALS
Informtnal: PETERS,SUZANNE,,
No. 1
...
Informtnal: BENSON,WAYNE,B,
No. 2
Work Phone: 407-896-1200
Informtnal: EVANS,ROBERT, FRANCIS,JR
No. 3
1261 ST TROPEZ CR
ORLANDO, FL 32806
Phone: 407-420-1801
Work Phone: 407-841-9332
Driv Lic #: E152766371060
Business: ROBERT F. EVANS, JR. PA
23 S. OSCEOLA AV
ORLANDO FL 32801
Phone: 407-841-9332
Offense Number: 1
Crime Code: 0PS09
...
Attempted/Committed: Committed
...
EVIDENCE COLLECTED INFORMATION:
Photographs/Undeveloped Film
