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Cops vandalize homeless community

Police officers slashed tents, punctured bicycle tires and wrecked other property in a homeless camp along the banks of the Colorado River.

Now that the allegations of vandalism have surfaced, three officers have been suspended from the Grand Junction police department.

Jacob Richards, co-founder of Housing First! No More Deaths!, first learned of the incident when people who lived there told him a group of police officers blocked them from entering their campsite.

Once they got in, they discovered eight tents had been cut open and bicycle tires slashed. The officers also cut rope that held clothes and supported structures.

The Grand Junction police have provided 11 new tents to replace the damaged ones, a step Richards believes is a good first step toward resolution.

Officers involved in the incident face criminal and internal investigations.

Read the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel report here.

Full post as published by the 13th juror on June 02, 2010 (boomark / email).