3/20/09 MEDIA ALERT!

San Diego — Girls Think Tank (“GTT”), a local homeless advocacy group, supports the decision of the San Diego Police Department (“SDPD”) to investigate the use of force by a police officer on 72-year old homeless advocate David Ross (also known as the “Waterman”) and members of the homeless community on Sunday, March 15, 2009.  GTT urges the SDPD to hold the officer fully accountable for his actions.  GTT also urges the city attorney’s office to drop charges against Marvin Britton, an innocent bystander who was attacked by the officer then apprehended on trumped-up charges.

Mr. Ross was on 17th Street outside the Neil Good Day Center – a day center for the homeless – handing out water to San Diego’s homeless community when, according to eye witnesses, a patrol car pulled up and one of the officers told the group gathered around Mr. Ross’ car to disperse.  Mr. Ross explained that he was distributing much-needed water to the homeless, but the officer became extremely agitated and ordered everyone to leave.  According to many eye witnesses, the officer grabbed a homeless man, Myron Hill, and threw him up against a brick wall.  When Mr. Ross came to Mr. Hill’s rescue, the officer rushed back to Mr. Ross’ car and flung the 72-year old onto the ground, kicking him several times.  Another homeless man, Marvin Britton, came to David Ross’ rescue, and the officer pulled out his taser gun and threatened to shoot Mr. Britton.  As a result of the officer’s attack, David Ross had to be hospitalized for a concussion and torn rotator cuff.  Mr. Britton was apprehended for two misdemeanor crimes — resisting a peace officer and battery, but later released.  Mr. Hill was issued a citation for “impeding traffic.” 

Well-known by San Diego’s homeless population, Mr. Ross is famous for identifying the “water crisis” in downtown San Diego.  He discovered that San Diego suffered from a lack of publicly-available drinking water in its downtown area and, as a result, homeless men and women die from dehydration on our city streets.  Supported by individual donors and organizations like the Isaiah Project and GTT, Mr. Ross passes out bottles of water to the homeless for hours each day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.  Mr. Ross has tirelessly advocated for public drinking fountains, public bathrooms, and other resources to meet the basic human needs of all people in San Diego.

GTT applauds the release of Mr. Marvin Britton, who was apprehended at the scene and charged with two misdemeanor crimes.  “GTT urges City Attorney Jan Goldsmith to drop the charges,” stated Jennifer Lai, a GTT Board Member.”  “We are optimistic that the city attorney will decide to do the right thing in this case.”

GTT also applauds the SDPD for launching an internal investigation into the incident and urges SDPD to hold the officer fully accountable for his misconduct.  “The SDPD should not let one bad apple rot its relationship with the community.  They must send clear instructions to law enforcement officers that unnecessary force and harassment of our city’s poor and homeless population will not be tolerated,” said Rachel Jensen, the President of GTT.  “It is unacceptable that a law enforcement officer who is tasked with the protection of our city and its citizens would abuse his power in this way.” 

GTT welcomes the opportunity to meet with the SDPD and collaborate with the police on the humane treatment of San Diego’s poor and homeless community.  Together, we can ensure that the rights of all of our citizens are respected in San Diego.

For press coverage of this story, click on this link for Channel 10 Coverage of GTT Conference Call.

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