Encampment Destruction-A Conversation Transcription.

The below account has not been edited other than for anonymity's sake of the community partners. This account is a personal reflection based on lived experience and opinions. It is shared for the purpose of documentation, awareness, and critique of institutional practices. This story is not intended to incite harm or harassment toward any individual. Names and identifying details have been omitted or altered where appropriate to respect privacy and safety. All incidents are allegations not proven in a court of law, and the Archive does not investigate or vouch for the veracity of reported incidents.

So one of the things that's interesting about doing street outreach is that we do have, like, I do have some experience with police violence, and most of it ends up being secondhand. And so one of the things that we hear about, often from people who are unhoused, is just like the way that police destroy encampments, and like the damage that this does to people's lives. And one of the things that, I think is really one of the incidents that really stands out to me was there was a guy who was camping down in the river valley, and he was camped out in the same place for three weeks, and just about every week, the police would come through and they would destroy all of his belongings. And you know, EPS always maintains you know, they don't slash tents and yada yada yada. And it's like, yeah, maybe they're not going through with a knife and literally slashing tents, but they're throwing them in the back of dumpsters like they're they're just putting them immediately into dump trucks like there's no no care given for people's belongings and people who are doing this to survive. But there was one incident that really, like, emphasized how just, like, pointless and cruel that practices. Because there was one day that his camp was taken down, and the, you know, the crew that attended it, took down his tent, put it back in the bag, and left it under a tree for him. And so when he came back his his camp had been cleared out, but his tent was still there, and so he was able to take it and move on somewhere else. And like, that incident just like, like, was a really, like, poignant note for me, of being like, this is all totally unnecessary. Like, all of the violence that gets done when encampments get cleared out is pointless. Like, we could just respect people's belongings and respect that they were trying to survive outside and recognizing that it's like, yeah, encampments have problems and pose risks, but like, there's no need to do it in like, just, like, pointlessly cruel way that it's done. So it's like, kind of funny, like, talking about, like, police violence. And it's like, what about if, like, the police weren't violent, like, with this, like, weird little opportunity to just be like, what if we had a bit of decency when we're dealing with the homeless?

Transcribed by Otter.AI from the original audio recording.

Recording of conversation with harm reduction community organizer - includes description of multiple incidents and general impacts of police violence.

Edmonton Police Service,

Edmonton

Anonomous

Recording of conversation with harm reduction community organizer - includes description of multiple incidents and general impacts of police violence.