Park Rangers Confiscate Items From Homeless Men - KTVI

St. Louis Park Rangers confiscate clothing and even medicine from two homeless men, then proceeding to throw them away.

[jamie]

I don't understand why someone isnt charging the park rangers with theft. These individuals deal with enough on a day to day basis and as long as they arent causing anyone harm, i don't understand why they arent left alone....This could be you one day, and is this how you would want to be treated?

[dave gass]

you only have human rights if you can afford a lawyer to insure that

[XXX YYY ZZZ]

A)That was just wrong!B)I hope to God that this isn't how the REST OF THE FRIKIN' WORLD sees St. Louis,'cus, it's just shameful.C)To Dave and any who think like him, according to how this nation was found and the Constitution, if you can't afford a lawyer, then you are given one, so that doesn't apply to this situation, not to mention our Founding Fathers beleived that all man is created equal.I should know!So, if you don't agree, don't call yourself American.Not to be rude or pick a fight, but....

[Blue_Man]

1.) The Park Rangers were on duty, patrolling the city parks. 2.) The Park Rangers routinely deal with homeless people who, in this instance, were trespassing and otherwise violating city ordinances. 3.) Many times, homeless people carry prescription meds in their possession. Nine-out-of-ten times, the meds are in a non-prescription container (if they're in a container at all) without the homeless person's name. 4.) Homeless people (many of whom are profoundly mentally ill or have severe criminal histories) are known to be responsible for a good deal of petty theft, property damage, and public sanitation issues (defecating/urinating in public). 6.) The Park Rangers were doing their jobs by "evicting" the homeless from the park. 7.) The only reason Bill Siedhoff is apologizing is because it's so terribly un-P.C. to deal directly with the homeless and the problems they create. Bill Siedhoff and the Mayor should be congratulating his Rangers for a job well done! 8.) If Dan Buck feels badly about the "treatment" of these people, perhaps his St. Patrick's Center should do more.

Don't blame the Police for taking enforcement action.

[Just My Opinion]

If these homeless would go to The St Patrick Center they would find housing for them so they wouldn't have to be homeless. The homeless have to agree to no drinking and no drugs from what I understand. They don't agree they can't get housing.

[SaucyB]

XXX YYY ZZZ wrote:

A)That was just wrong!B)I hope to God that this isn't how the REST OF THE FRIKIN' WORLD sees St. Louis,'cus, it's just shameful.C)To Dave and any who think like him, according to how this nation was found and the Constitution, if you can't afford a lawyer, then you are given one, so that doesn't apply to this situation, not to mention our Founding Fathers beleived that all man is created equal.I should know!So, if you don't agree, don't call yourself American.Not to be rude or pick a fight, but....

just curious, are you crazy? and the Founding Fathers did NOT believe all men were created equal or black people would NOT have counted as PROPERTY and 2/3rds people or whatever. don't call yourself an American? America is built on the RIGHT to disagree. as for the lawyer part, if you're charged with a crime you get a lawyer, it doesn't apply because they weren't charged. there are no free lawyers appointed to sue the rangers that threw away these people's belongings.

and NO the rangers weren't just doing their jobs, according to STLToday

"The city has set up a protocol that homeless people are notified that they are breaking the city’s 10 p.m. curfew if they are sleeping in the park.

Also, Siedhoff said, the protocol requires that anything cleared from a park is taken to the city’s health department on 13th Street in downtown St. Louis and the city workers do their best to contact the homeless and to not destroy their belongings.

“There is a protocol to be followed when things are left in parks,” Siedhoff said,“We have a protocol that clearly was not followed in this case. All I can say is, we screwed up.”

standing there throwing stuff in a dumpster while someone begs you not to is NOT the same as having your stuff taken to the health dept. maybe if the rangers got fired they too may someday experience the joy of being homeless