A video uploaded to Facebook this week shows how the mere act of being has become a criminal act in modern day Police State, USA. As cops launch a full on assault on homeless people across the country, the basic right to exist is under attack.
In the video, a homeless man named Redwood, who is reported to also have autism, is assaulted by a half dozen cops for seemingly no reason.
According to the person who filmed the incident, police approached another innocent homeless man because he had his dog with him. The video begins after the man attempted to explain to the officers that his K9 friend was actually his service dog.
According to Oregon state law, there is no formal certification process or paperwork recognized by the state or federal government to have a service dog. The mere statement from the man should have been enough to suffice the officers.
The officers did not believe him, however, and that’s when Redwood spoke up.
According to the advocacy group, Human Rights Oregon,
Redwood is on the Asperger’s spectrum of autism and has a very keen mind and has studied some Federal law. He is trying to inform the officer that he is violating Federal law by harassing and ticketing a disabled person with a service dog.
As Redwood attempts to walk away from the cops who were harassing him, he was swarmed.
When cops attacked Redwood, the man with the service dog walked off. He was later found by police exiting a porta-potty and charged with felony escape, according to the report.
Meanwhile, according to Human Rights Oregon,
Redwood’s muscles have locked up, which is a part of an autistic reaction to stress, fear and anger. He sits down peacefully and then you see him being forcefully arrested by a group of police that has been called in, on charges of “disturbing the peace,” “interfering with an officer,” and “resisting arrest”. He is a peaceful person who describes himself on a spiritual journey, and is constantly helping other people out. Please be aware you are witnessing what a hidden policy of discrimination looks like. Innocent people, just trying to sit in the downtown are being turned into criminals over nothing.
With an increase in unemployment and skyrocketing foreclosures stoking homelessness in the US, the government is making it harder than ever to be homeless.
Legislative measures that criminalize the often unfortunate situation of being down on your luck are steadily increasing in the US.
As the laws to make homelessness illegal are increasing, the government facilities to help the homeless have been decreasing.
Since 2001, the U.S. has lost nearly 13 percent of its low-income housing according to a report by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty that surveyed 187 cities.
As more and more people find themselves in this adverse situation, the government is reacting with force instead of aid.
Eighteen percent of cities now ban sleeping in public and 42% of cities ban sleeping in vehicles.
As if it’s not hard enough to get a job while homeless, now it’s becoming nearly impossible to hold a job long enough to get on your feet and stop being homeless.
However, we should expect nothing less from a system which maintains itself through the monopoly it holds on the use of violence. When the only tool you have at your disposal is a hammer — eventually, everything begins to look like a nail.
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