Police body camera footage obtained by the San Francisco Standard reveals officers arresting Markael Raybon on July 30. This arrest was one of the first that followed a court order enabling the city to finally clear tent encampments in its jurisdiction.
In video of the arrest, Raybond expresses surprise that he's being placed under arrest for sleeping in the streets.
"You’re telling me I’m under arrest for sitting outside, being outside?" Raybond asks officer Alejandro Tiffer in the video.
“Yes, you’re under arrest for having an illegal encampment,” the officer responds.
Tiffer goes on to clarify to Raybond that he faced arrest as a result of possessing a city bed in a designated homeless shelter. Longstanding court precedent shields homeless persons with no indoor dwelling from arrest for illegal camping, but Raybon seemingly chose to set up a tent structure anyway.
“You’re already housed. That means you shouldn’t be out here on the streets,” the officer told Raybon of city law.
"You’re supposed to be inside. You’re basically lodging here.”
Images from the cleanup show city workers cleaning a large collection of homeless belongings and blight from the area.
Raybon was held in a police squad car for less than half an hour, seemingly cited, and released in the incident.
A San Francisco Standard journalist subsequently witnessed city workers cleaning up a tent encampment belonging to Raybon- again- during a subsequent sweep-up in October.
It's far from uncommon for homeless persons to prefer street lodging over accepting a bed in a homeless shelter in much of the United States, with the homeless at times citing what they see as restrictive conditions inside shelters, or dangers from other shelter residents. Drug use is prevalent among much of San Francisco's homeless, a factor that deters some homeless who intend on using drugs away from homeless shelters.
Critics of the chronic street homelessness prevalent in California cities have advocated for a tougher approach to the willing homeless, urging cities to mandate that they accept shelter or face arrest and incarceration in a city jail.
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