Police, protesters and the problems that come with evicting homeless people
A group of people, already homeless and living in a tent encampment, lose what little they have in a rubbish fire that turned explosive.
They're met shortly thereafter by about two-dozen affordable housing advocates keen on finding those displaced shelter and clothes and food.
That was supposed to be the story.
Instead, the events that played out at J.C. Beemer Park on Wednesday started as a community coming together to help the vulnerable and ended as a violent clash between protesters and police. The aftermath continued, with six arrests by the end of the week.
In the middle of those two opposing sides - and the impetus to the Wednesday protest - was the city's decision to hand eviction notices to those in the encampment under its contentious park bylaw.
Some residents took up the city's offer for alternative housing arrangements at shelters and hotels.
But how long before they're back on the street?
The response
Just before 6 a.m. Wednesday, emergency crews responded to J.C. Beemer on Victoria Avenue North for reports of a blaze.
It was a rubbish fire that quickly turned explosive after spreading to propane tanks, electrical generators and other incendiary debris.
Flames reached as high as 20 feet. No one from the encampment was injured, but two tents went up in flames and overhead hydro lines significantly damaged. The fire department said in a statement Thursday it is not investigating the cause.
About a half-dozen police officers also responded to the call, cordoning off a large area surrounding the encampment with yellow police tape. The reason for that was twofold, said Hamilton police Insp. Frank Miscione in an interview with The Spectator Thursday.
For one, the Social Navigator program - a partnership between specially trained police and paramedics who work with vulnerable populations - needed room to help the displaced homeless, he said. For two, the fire scene presented safety concerns for hydro workers.
Our concern was there was more incendiary devices there - there was more propane tanks, there was gasoline and generators," said Miscione, who led police's response Wednesday. There's no way (hydro) can replace the lines with all the encampment stuff there ... but more so, it was a public safety issue with the debris left behind and the potential for more fires to happen."
The latter was municipal law enforcement's reasoning for issuing eviction notices to encampment residents within two hours of the blaze breaking out.
City spokesperson Michelle Shantz said Wednesday the city's street outreach team visited unsheltered people living at J.C. Beemer at least 48 times - or twice a week - since June.
But the evictions levied Wednesday were not preplanned, said Shantz, noting hydro crews needed to fix damaged power lines that sat overtop the tents.
The notices came to the dismay of the Hamilton Encampment Support Network, a housing advocacy group that, by around noon, had more than a dozen volunteers on scene to help the homeless and procure supplies.
Their numbers grew as word got out the city was evicting encampment residents.
The clash
In just a few short hours, Hamilton police's presence at J.C. Beemer went from a half-dozen officers to more than 35.
The amped-up police response came after a line of protesters - who had been relatively peaceful, singing pro-encampment and anti-police chants - broke through police tape.
A skirmish unfolded, with police dragging one protester, Sahra Soudi, by her arm. A photo taken at the scene shows a police officer with his knee on another protester. Police later said it was a shoulder pin."
Police said the breach of the taped off area compromised" the safety of encampment residents, city staff and outreach workers.
But Kojo Damptey of the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion believes race played a role. Many of the protesters, including the two who were dragged and pinned, were people of colour.
It seems to me that any time Black and racialized people are advocating for social issues ... we're treated with so much violence," he said.
Two people were arrested at the scene, including a 33-year-old man charged with obstructing police and a 27-year-old female charged with assaulting a police officer.
More arrests were coming.
On Friday, network member Sarah Jama and a handful of supporters gathered at Beasley Park where encampment residents were also being evicted. It was there that police arrested her, charging her with assaulting police and obstructing police in connection with Wednesday's events.
The remaining advocates kept their distance as city crews piled what was left of the eight or so tent set-ups into a dump truck.
We're not sure if we can talk to residents, in fear of being arrested," said Soudi, an organizer with Hamilton Encampment Support Network. We're just kind of hands-off right now."
Hours later, Soudi was also arrested.
Late Friday afternoon, about 15 protesters - including Soudi and Jama, then released - stood outside the central police station on King William Street, erecting a tent on police property. It was then that police moved in and arrested three protesters, including Soudi. A video shows police tackling them. The response sparked a tense standoff, with more than 30 officers staring down protesters who screamed at them.
Soudi and the other two were released Friday evening. Soudi was charged with obstructing police, again in connection with the Wednesday incident. It's not clear if the two others are facing charges but police confirmed Friday a 20-year-old man was charged in connection with the Wednesday events.
The aftermath
Of the roughly dozen people living in the now-disbanded J.C. Beemer encampment, the city provided six with temporary lodging at shelters and hotels. The key word there is temporary, said Tom Cooper, director of the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction.
Cooper called the evictions a deplorable situation all around." But at the crux of the issue isn't the city issuing notices to vacate parks - it's that people have to revert to living in tents because any alternative is an afterthought.
Cooper likened the clearing of encampments to putting a Band-Aid on a gushing wound. The parks might be cleared, but the people living in them - even if they're given temporary housing - often don't have the wherewithal, means or opportunity to avoid sleeping rough again. He said it's incumbent on political leaders to recognize the need for affordable, indoor living spaces.
This is a situation that is polarizing the community and it didn't need to happen," he said.
Katrina Clarke is a reporter at The Spectator. katrinaclarke@thespec.com.
Sebastian Bron is a reporter at The Spectator. sbron@thespec.com