After armed activists confronted workers cleaning up the city’s growing homeless camps, Dallas has been forced to create a new security plan to ensure the safety of its employees.
The City’s new security strategy calls for a three-tiered system of law enforcement involvement. The first tier involves only city marshals with neighborhood police on standby, while the second and third tiers call for police involvement when activists are present.
These changes come after armed activists prevented city workers from executing a scheduled “camp cleaning” in July on Coombs Street in South Dallas, as previously reported in The Dallas Express.
“We’re changing the way we’re doing cleanings because we realize that was an issue,” said Christine Crossley, director of Dallas’ Office of Homeless Solutions. “We also realize that there are some people that might show up with guns, and I think we need to have a collective response.”
When speaking with The Dallas Express in July, Crossley called for a peaceful resolution so that the needs of the “unsheltered population” could be more effectively addressed.
“It was pretty clear to us that the armed presence didn’t understand why we were there, and we know from prior interactions…that there was no interest in conversation,” she told The Dallas Express.
In an August opinion piece he wrote for The Dallas Express, Steven Moitz of Keep Dallas Safe said, “It is the City of Dallas’ responsibility and obligation to address the growing problem of homelessness and vagrancy, and every day that our city leaders do not act, the issue becomes exponentially worse.”
“Furthermore,” he continued, “residents and business owners need to speak out and advocate for a real solution, just as Keep Dallas Safe has been doing for months. Our city leaders need to know that we support action and policy that will clean up encampments and provide sustainable solutions for those living on our streets.”
Typically, the homeless receive a 72-hour notice before scheduled sweeps. The notices tell them to move their belongings from the area. Whatever is left behind is removed by city workers, often with small bulldozers, claw trucks, and other heavy equipment.
Crossley said the City’s new approach involves camp occupants in the “camp cleanings,” which means they do not have to move from the area, and the need for heavy equipment is reduced. The Office of Homeless Solutions plans on providing camp occupants with equipment to clean their areas, such as roll carts, rakes, gloves, and trash bags.
“In areas where we can clean and not necessarily have them move, we can do that, and that’s what we’ll do,” said Marci Jackson, community liaison for the Office of Homeless Solutions.
Crossley said the goal of the cleaning is to maintain the “safety and hygiene” of the sites until camp occupants can be rehoused through a new program—which can often take weeks.
The new plan received a mixed review from one homeless man.
Matt Evans told The Dallas Express he believes the City’s plan to forcibly move vagrants from their camps is “horrible.” Homeless people “gotta sleep somewhere,” said Evans, who has been living on the streets for about two years.
When he learned of the new cleaning policy, Evans told The Dallas Express, “That makes more sense.”
It is unknown what the effect of the new regulations will ultimately be, but The Dallas Express will continue to monitor the efforts by the City and potential resistance by armed activists.
I’ll clear it up for you real quick. Anyone with the antifa uniform dies. Problem solved.
Or Proud Boys uniform!
6 of one, half a dozen of the other.
This is ridiculous? Now we are resorting to armed intimidation and vigilante? Such a sad state our society has deteriorated as they have abandoned God and the bible.
Some of these vigilantes might be Christain Fascists. Planning a second Civil War to kill Democrats and overthrow the Government. Love thy Neighbor? Many Christain Preachers bear false witness, as they preach that all Democrats are Demons.
Oh please that is ridiculous!!! Trash!! YOUR PARTY are the ones rioting in the streets and burning and looting. Take a chair. Take several.
You been drinking bong water again? boy, you make Forrest Gump look like Albert Einstein.
Exactly!
More evidence of antifa, besides directly destroying cities themselves, organizing directly with leftist big $ to defend anything related to the destruction of our culture.
I see Trump loving Fascists attempting to kill politicians. Attack the blue, kill the FBi, in their servitude of a corrupt Traitor, DJT.
Drop off earth and take your BS hate with you.
That’s funny, because I see an actual democrat politician actually killing someone who was investigating him.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/politician-accused-las-vegas-journalists-murder-was-upset-reporting-dn-rcna46853
I also see young men being brutally murdered simply because he is a Republican.
https://freebeacon.com/latest-news/man-who-killed-republican-teenager-over-political-argument-is-free-on-bail/
This is a war you cannot win, son. You’ve got far too many old soldiers against you.
Oorah.
Where do we draw the line when armed groups intimidate the elected officials from carrying out their duties? This intimidation must not be allowed to continue . Look at the damage vigilantism did to Seattle and other cities . Stop it before it gets out of hand . By the way , I need a few rakes and bags for leaves and other assorted garbage . Come on. Stop giving away the store and our tax dollars
these Antifa snowflakes shouldn’t scare the police. they can
have their guns put they can’t use them
because their lives are not being threatened . if they even
point a weapon at police then arrest them. They are idiots and we must remember that.
Those were not antifa snowflakes. They were armed Republican Fascists. Joe has an F-15 on standby.
Antifa is a bunch of lilly livered “cats”
Let take a page out of the COMMINEST PLAY BOOK. Shot and kill one or two ANTIFA you educate 100. Simple math.
Educate to do what? An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth makes the world blind and toothless!
Nah killing Antifa makes everyone safer.
Would be nice if my prey would make it more interesting.
Anyone that thinks this new policy will work is crazy. If you ever had to clean up after a couple homeless you would want a bulldozer. Most are there due to drug use. The needles everywhere. This type of clean up puts unnecessary risk to the clean up crew and potentially leaves hazards to the few good homeless by not doing a clean sweep.
All of these hateful comments. For many, homelessness is just a week or two missing work because of a sickness. Or maybe getting hurt. You never know why they are there. Oh it’s Antifa. WtF ever. Reagan policies, (trickle down and the cuts to mental care), are more to blame than antifa.
1st remove the armed activists they’re there for nothing but trouble.
Underneath I45 is a large encampment with no restrooms or sanitation put a couple of roll aways down there and PortaPots the criminal element will always be there but atleast see if those resources will be used or there’s no other choice then too remove them and wash the area down
I’m confused. The AR-15 Ninjas don’t like the homeless people, rite? And yet the Ninjas wouldn’t let the city of Dallas employees complete the thankless task of cleaning up after the homeless people. Are the AR Ninjas stupid or something? Gotta wonder who is backing up the sanitation workers.
The boss asked, “ did y’all clean up Coombs st camp this morning”, the sanitation workers replied, “ nope, three crazy white people with AR-15’s dressed like Ninjas 🥷 said take the day off “. “We split”
I wonder why my comment was not posted?