Medford cops double down efforts driving homeless out of city

 By Brad Smith

MEDFORD, Ore. – Homeless and displaced people are on the verge of being cast aside again by Medford and its police department – in particular, by Medford Police dept.’s much-lauded Livability Team.

On Sept. 20, MPD officers rolled through Hawthorne Park’s makeshift tent city, inhabited by over 100 people displaced by the recent fires and handed out eviction notices. They had a week to leave.

For over a week and half, the tent city had been a refuge for those both living along the Bear Creek Greenway and those who had lost their homes. A group of volunteers calling themselves Hawthorne Park Mutual Aid provided food, laundry services and other services for the displaced people. But Medford officials weren’t happy with the situation and eviction notices went out that Sunday.

However, on Monday morning, MPD officers appeared again with eviction notices. They claimed there was a “typo error” and Tent City inhabitants now had 24 hours to leave.

“It’s bullshit,” volunteer Clarence Carr said. “At Hawthorne, these people were safe. They had a safe place to sleep, no worries about being raped or beaten up, we had medics – it was a safe environment.”

Tuesday morning started with cops sweeping through the tent city, threatening volunteers and harassing onlookers. The normally clean Tent City was turned into a chaotic mess and the perfect photo op both the city and MPD needed to push their narrative that the displaced people were creating a hazard at Hawthorne.

JPR reporter April Ehrlich, as well as another reporter and a number of volunteers were taken into custody and held for several hours under what some called inhumane conditions. It should be noted that the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office is already facing one lawsuit for abusive behavior exhibited by their corrections staff.

As for the Tent City inhabitants, many fled to the Mayette Street area along the Greenway. According to Carr, it’s Bureau of Land Management land and people are allowed to camp, without permits, for up to two weeks. Carr said he not only found many of the hundred or so Tent City campers that had been at Hawthorne, but another 200 or more campers as well. Carr and others started feeding them and helping.

“It’s a large community and we’re talking families, too” he said. “They all bonded together and formed a community and it’s working for them.”

They have to since they have little options elsewhere.

Most of the so-called “alternatives” the MPD Livability Team gave the campers didn’t pan out. Most of the shelters and select campsites are already full. Shelters operated by religious groups require people to sign a contract – which, Carr and others feel, is discriminatory and violates the campers’ rights. Rumors are still going around that the Expo is shutting down soon and there’s very little for people to turn to.

Carr took the issue up with Officer Mike Wulff of the Livability Team. After an exchange lasting several minutes, Wulff reportedly said, “Look, if they can’t find anything here then they have to go elsewhere. Just get out of town and go elsewhere.”

“We got it on video,” Carr said. “That tells me that the city doesn’t give a fuck about these people and they want them out of town. That’s the truth, I feel.”

Wulff and other MPD officers arrived at the Mayette Street location late Thursday afternoon and refused to say what they were doing. Carr and others speculated that the cops would post “No Trespassing” signs and, maybe in the next day or so, go after the campers again.

“It’s fucking sad what this city is doing to these people,” he said. “Some of these people, their families have lived here for years. This is their home. You can’t treat people like that. But that’s been the American way for a long time now, ain’t it?”