Boca Roton police in riot gear dispurses 500 waiting for housing money

[ensho]

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/south/epaper/2008/03/12/0312vouchers.html


Hundreds seeking housing money overwhelm Boca Authority


A crowd of more than 500 people waiting for hours this morning for housing voucher applications were dispersed by police in riot gear at the Boca Raton Housing Authority when the applications ran out sooner than expected.

The action prompted complaints that officers used excessive tactics and housing authority officials were incompetent in their planning.

Two people were arrested and six to eight people hospitalized for exhaustion during the ordeal.

Hundreds of people, mostly mothers who had spent more than eight hours in line, were forced to leave the property at 2333 W. Glades Road by 30 Boca Raton Police officers, including SWAT team members, who walked toward the crowd in unison holding their police shields up about 10:30 a.m.

"Leave or face arrest," police officers shouted at the crowd as they urged them out of the housing authority parking lot. People were made to leave the vicinity altogether, with officers forcing them to cross the street and move toward their cars.

The overwhelming turnout of people desperate for housing money came as little surprise to Suzanne Cabrera, president of the Housing Leadership Council of Palm Beach County.
-snip-
-----------------------------------


mostly mothers facing the riot garbed cops

did the cops enjoy bullying poor women, one wonders. lining up and advancing on the mostly women was bullying.

that's 500 desperate, mostly mothers in Boca Raton. multiply that by......

[liberal N proud]

1. So the police state goes

We will see more scenes like this in the near future.

[SpiralHawk]

13. Alas many more scenes. The republicon Goon Squad is primed to pummel...

Americans to the ground...

Same as it ever was...Shrunken-soul republicons hate democracy. Hate the people. Know only fear, hate, control and domination as tactics for facing the world. They employ the Legal Forces who are paid to serve and protect us, to chase us away from exercising our Constitutional rights.

[superkia]

25. I always react when I see someone point at only one side and...

I have noticed that you do this every chance you can. Do you really believe that the corruption in our government, is only on one side? That the democrats are weak like the media says, instead of silent partners so the people don't realize what is really taking place? One party or a few people wouldn't be able to commit the atrocities that have been taking place without cooperation from the other side. Every time someone puts this focus on one group of people, it actually helps the systems agenda. This shit is not about one group, please stop pushing the medias agenda and look at the problem as a whole.

When Dennis Kucinich stood on the floor and pleaded that the evidence was outdated and the drum beat for war was because of oil, DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THE EXCUSES THAT...OH WE WERE DUPED BY BUSH, THATS WHY WE GAVE UP OUR CONGRESSIONAL POWER TOG O TO WAR? Are you that ignorant? Wake up and help America, stop this trivial pointing of a finger at one side.

The way you look at things, I take it, myself and other black people in America are all the same? A letter D doesn't make you innocent and for the people, please look at the facts and the actions of some of these people and blame accordingly. Everyone has their own opinion but your type of comments only help destroy what you claim you are defending?

[scrinmaster]

2. Looks like you didn't mention this part

People grew agitated. Several fights broke out. Police and firefighters said they were prepared if things were to turn violent on a large scale. Nearly 50 firefighters and paramedics from the city, county and Delray Beach set up across the street in the Town Center mall parking lot.

Then an official came out of the housing authority building and announced through a megaphone that disabled people should come forward.

Instead, the entire crowd surged forward. People fell down and were close to being trampled, witnesses said.

"That's when all hell broke loose," said Shannon Pierce, 26, of Lake Worth. Pierce, who is six months pregnant and had been waiting in line since 6 a.m. "We almost got trampled over."

[ensho]

3. since I can only post so much, I left it for you to post

nt

[Breeze54]

5. The "officials" are completely to blame for the chaos!!

"Then an official came out of the housing authority building and announced
through a megaphone that disabled people should come forward."

What a completely and utterly foolish thing to do!! Stupid idiots!!

Usually in those situations, it's first inline, first served.

That doesn't mean that the 1st inline gets the $$ first.

Usually those $$ are given out on an as needed basis, as in the disabled, sick, etc.
would be the most disadvantaged and be a priority #1 for the funds anyway.

The notice should have included to allow the disabled up front or they should have
had a sign in sheet and given each person a number.

The officials handled it poorly and it's their fault for the confusion and disorganization!

[selador]

9. they may have

handled it poorly but people are responsible for their actions. those that acted poorly are also responsible.

people aren't sheep. they said disabled come forward and everybody did. but it's not THEIR fault, it's solely the cops fault?

[Breeze54]

12. Where did I say "cops"? I said the "officials".

The BRHA is to blame. They are the officials!

[selador]

14. oops

my bad. i criticize OTHERs for lack of reading comprehension and then i jump in and do it myself.


sorry

[knitter4democracy]

26. If they meant everyone on disability, maybe that's why so many went forward.

I could see why many on disability would need housing help--the payments are disgustingly low. If most people in line were on disability, then most people would go forward, right?

[Terran]

20. Actually, no

Usually in those situations, it's first inline, first served.

In Section 8, disabled people do receive priority for housing. But of course that was a stupid way to find out who was disabled.

[Occulus]

4. Someone's brains fully stopped working

I'm absolutely certain there's a Kinko's in the area, and I'm 100% sure they could have gotten 500 copies run off by close of business.

Holy God, does anyone rub two neurons together anymore? Or is it just me going and expecting too much?

Edit: According to Google Earth, if this is the "Boca Raton Housing Authority" in question, there's a Kinko's office literally within walking distance.



Words fail me.

[Breeze54]

6. I'm sure the BRHA has a copy machine or two...

The BRHA "officials" are buffoons!

[ensho]

7. thanks for the map

nt

[Javaman]

22. A quote by the housing authority, "walking is for suckers". nt

[selador]

8. gender

should have NOTHING to do with it.

if its bullying, it's bullying

whether they were mothers, or women w/o children, or men should NOT be relevant.

equal rights and equal treatment means exactly what it says

assuming the cops were "bullying", the gender of the assembled people should be irrelevant

that's a double standard, and not the first time i've seen it employed here

[ensho]

11. gender matters

nt

[selador]

16. not in this case it doesn't

the force was either unreasonable or reasonable. whether or not the crowd was women or men is not relevant to that decision

women don't deserve different treatment from the police. equality under the law means what it says

double standards are sexist

[Breeze54]

15. Really? So you advocate using the same amount of force

that would be used on a man to also be used on women and children?

I'm glad you aren't cop... or are you?

----------

Understanding the Use of Force By and Against the Police.

http://www.ncjrs.gov/txtfiles/forcerib.txt

snip-->

The third implication for policy stems from the
finding that the gender of the suspect and the
police officer directly affected the amount of
force used by the police. More force was used by
police when both officer and suspect were male than
when both officer and suspect were female or their
gender was unreported. However, male suspects were
not found to use more force against the police than
female suspects when all of the predictors were
considered. For most officers and researchers, this
is counterintuitive. Statistical controls for the
height and weight of officers and suspects, as well
as for the suspect's use of force, were included,
and these controls (or other factors not included
in the research) may account for the absence of an
effect for suspect sex on suspect use of force.
Since most arrests (1,059, or 67 percent) involved
a male officer and a male suspect, we interpreted
these findings to mean that arrests of female
suspects by female officers involved less force
than the typical arrest.

[ensho]

17. thanks for this info

nt

[selador]

19. i advocate equal treatment under the law

interesting concept that.

apparently you don't support equal treattment

officers should treat persons based on how they act towards the officers, and facts and circumstances known to them

whether or not the force was justified, the gender of the participants of the demonstration is not relevant.

let me also quote from YOUR excerpt.


"However, male suspects were
not found to use more force against the police than
female suspects when all of the predictors were
considered. "

read that. again.

cops aren't supposed to racially profile. well, gender profiling is just as pernicious

men and women commit crimes at different rates, true. so do blacks vs. whites vs. asians, so do young vs. old ,etc.

regardless, cops are supposed to treat people as individuals, not based on their gender, race, or age.

capiche.


equal treatment under the law. that's what our democracy demands.

and fwiw, i have over 20 years of law enforcement experience, and have NEVER even received a COMPLAINT about excessive force let along a sustained finding. and i am very familiar with crowd/riot dynamics, as i was in the WTO riots 16-18 hrs a day.

[lpbk2713]

10. If I'm not mistaken, Boca Ratón is the home of Limbaugh & Coultergeist.

This whole scenario speaks volumes. OxyRush and Crazy Annie can't have this sort of thing going on outside their front doors so they call out the SWAT team to disperse the unruly peasants. Break out the TASERs and the truncheons.

[RockaFowler]

21. Actually Palm Beach is their home

Boca is about 25 miles to the South

[lpbk2713]

23. Not the first time I've been wrong in my lifetime.

I'll live through it.

[ensho]

18. THE POINT BEING: 500 people desperate for housing money

in one small well to do town.

multiply that by........

means trouble

[knitter4democracy]

27. I saw that, too.

I thought of my town. It would be more than 500, that's for sure.

[HuffleClaw]

24. disgusting

and clearly some very bad planning on the part of the housing people. or possibly deliberately bad planning. who knows.