Large Police Response at PHS Building on Johnson Street

No less than five police cars were sighted at the PHS Community Services building at 844 Johnson Street, at about 10h35 today. The residence caters to former homeless people from tent cities that were moved straight indoors, so it is no stranger to incidents, and nobody in the community would consider it particularly newsworthy—which is precisely why I deem it worth reporting.

To be honest, I could not learn what prompted the call. What I do know is that police officers left shortly afterwards, without arresting anybody. And they looked way too relaxed to be chasing after a suspect on the run. So in all likelihood they were called over a tempest in a teapot which at best would have been better answered by less intimidating people.

To those who don’t see me coming, allow me to spell it out: spurious police calls are common in such facilities. I’ve witnessed several myself here at My Place and elsewhere; for a while they were so common that multiple residents, starting with myself, complained quite loudly about it. Even if the police does not misbehave (and don’t count on them to actually behave), it’s still a colossal waste of resources and it’s utterly intimidating to homeless or disabled people whose only crime is to have special needs. That’s why we need less policing and more addressing the root causes of the problem—such as more, better-trained outreach workers.