Bashful Bernard Braves Bench Ban Wednesday 12:30 PM April 29

Way to go Bernard. I will see if I can be there too, though I don't fancy getting a ticket as I have to maintain a spotless record for my occasional job.

please post upcoming protests to the calendar, which will also be placed on the newswire.

Around 12:30 PM, Bernard arrived and sat down with a sign that read "It's Illegal to Sit on a bench for more than an hour: just watch me!", on the bench in front of Rosie McCann's at Pacific and Lincoln. Buffeted a bit by wind and cold. Bernard moved to the bench across the street in the sunshine near Graphics. There he sat, facing traffic, talking to passersby, and lining up future Copwatch volunteers.

Perhaps more aptly to be dubbed "Copchase" in the future.

Squadcars rolled by three times, declining to stop, even when he called them. Two hosts walking by, told that he'd been on the bench for more than an hour refused to stop and officially warn him and hurried off.

An interested person called the police station and reported he was illegally sitting on a bench. No response.

Around 2 PM or soI walked up to Officer Warren, walking down the sidewalk across the street and told her that I wished to make a complaint and report a crime--a violation of code section MC 9.50.013. She initially refused to talk to me. When I insisted that I wanted to make a citizen's arrest of the violator, she kept telling me to leave her alone.

Finally when I pointed out that were I a merchant reporting a similar crime, she'd be there with her ticketbook in a moment, she said she'd contact her sergeant and get back to me. I made the mistake of taking her at her word instead of demanding she cross the street and either give a citation or a warning for what was a visible violation of the code section that the Downtown Association, SCPD, and City Council created three months ago.

She continued to refuse to come across the street and warn Bernard he was in violation, or to take my citizen's arrest that he was violating the law (which he was). Some of this was audio and videotaped and may be available for viewing later.

I intend to play some of this on the air either on Thursday's FRSC show at 6 PM or Sunday between 9:30 AM and 1 PM.

Two supporters from the Santa Clara County Peace and Freedom Party came all the way from San Jose to support Bernard and give out fliers. The response from passersby was favorable and mostly from women.

As the day grew later, Bernard shrugged, got up, and left.

A victory for Bernard's bench sitting vigil in one sense.

A clear indication that police and hosts are selectively enforcing laws to avoid negative publicity. If you bring enough videocamera support and make the police look ridiculous, they'll go somewhere else, perhaps.

The question is what happens when the activists go home and only the lone homeless person with his backpack is left sitting to face the sharp "move along" from the next uniformed harasser?

The Human Rights Organization will be discussing the issue further at its next meeting Saturday 3 PM at the Sub Rose Cafe.

Bernard put his derriere on the line on behalf of homeless people who need to use public benches for longer periods than housed people do. Despite purposely violating the law in open civil disobedience, police and hosts declined to warn or cite him. Bernard has put one more nail in the coffin of the argument that these ordinances were initiated against "behavior" and "not against homeless people."

These ordinances are thinly-disguised loitering laws.

These ordinances are intended to be selectively enforced.

Thank-you, Bernard for showing everyone the truth of this sad fact.

Interviews and commentary of the April 29th protest can be found at http://www.radiolibre.org/brb/brb090593.mp3 (about 1/2 way through the audio file).