7 people arrested defending family; police use extortion to coerce homeowner to leave home
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Video above is courtesy of Ricky Six and Lisa.
Video above of eviction and some arrests is courtesy of Christian.
Police Escalation to Execute the Eviction used Extortion Tactic
This time Rochester Police escalated their tactics by using one of Joe’s daughters as collateral to coerce him to leave his home. Twenty year old Audrey was arrested and handcuffed after awakening to find police surrounding the house. She exited the home to see what was going on, and was arrested when she attempted to go back inside. After escorting her away, the police then used her as a bargaining chip to remove Joe and the rest of his family from the house. According to Mr. Woods, the police said, “We will release your daughter, if you leave your house.” Seeing the police threats were creating a volatile hostage situation and not wanting his daughter to be harmed, Mr. Woods agreed and vacated the house. Despite being assured that she would not be charged, when the police took him to retrieve his daughter, Woods learned that she had been charged with obstructing government administration. Meanwhile, Joe’s two other daughters were let into the house to retrieve their belongings, thus indicating their was no need to arrest Audrey in the first place, and providing proof that her arrest was a questionable ploy to scare Mr. Woods into leaving the home he did not plan to vacate.
On a national level, this immoral manipulation of Joe’s wish to protect his children is one of the largest escalations of police tactics used to displace black families. The Rochester police showed that they are capable of going to unconscionable lengths to support bank displacement of families in order to suppress their right to housing. Six other supporters were arrested for crossing the police barrier. Two of them were chained to the front porch via a concrete lockbox and were removed after the police sawed into the the concrete. Those arrested were following the adage, “When you come for one of our neighbors, you come for all of us.”
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A moratorium on police enforced bank evictions. The City must insist that banks be partners in negotiating to keep homeowners in their homes, rather than profiteers looking for financial benefit.
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An independent dual-track investigation into allegations of suppression of civil rights and the human right to housing for the Woods family and other struggling homeowners. An investigation into the underlying social, racial, and economic conditions that lead to police abuse and displacement of families of color..
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Greater community control over land in the form of community land trusts which will stem the trend of mass displacement and unaffordable housing.
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In order to stem the trend of police abuses around displacement and other forms of racial profiling, greater community control over the police in form of a Civilian Control Board of the Rochester Police which has power to set priorities, policies, and practices.
