Joint Statement from Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area and the ACLU of Northern California on the Violent Attack on an Unhoused Resident by a San Francisco Business Owner
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 10, 2023
MEDIA CONTACT: Raya Steier, rsteier@lccrsf.org, 530-723-2426
***PRESS RELEASE***
On Monday, 9th January 2023, the social media account of a small business in San Francisco’s Financial District uploaded a video that captured a man violently assaulting an unhoused woman. The man sprayed a high-pressure water hose directly at the unhoused woman and her belongings, then pointed and yelled at her while she called out for help. Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area and the ACLU of Northern California strongly denounces this violent and inhumane attack.
Unhoused San Franciscans, who are disproportionately Black and Brown, are victims of violence far more frequently than the average San Franciscan. Violence like this assault occurs in the context of government, societal, and press participation in scapegoating unhoused residents and treating them as though they are objects to be swept, jailed, and harassed, instead of working toward solutions to homelessness like affordable housing. By continually violating the civil rights of unhoused residents, the City of San Francisco has contributed to a situation that invites violence. We as San Franciscans are all complicit, and we call on City officials, press, and residents, to honor unhoused people’s rights and increase the kindness and humanity that helps prevent violence.
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