I got fined thousands of dollars for being poor in public.đźš·
I live outdoors in the City of L.A., which is something I have done continuously since 2017 after first being displaced in 2003.
My partner and I have gotten seven tickets for “quality of life” crimes like possessing an umbrella, having a suitcase & public sleeping in the City of Los Angeles.
I went to court for two of them: $237 each. For two more of them, my significant other told the judge we moved, & those were dismissed.
When we were in Court (on alternating days because we can’t leave our spot unattended), they did not offer or refer us to ANY resources.
I was offered a “deal”: 12 hours of uncompensated “community service” labor clearing other “encampments” for Public Works (as if wage theft didn’t contribute to my current situation). I forget if this “deal” was for one or both tickets, but within another month, we had accumulated three more tickets.
The court made the labor offer after I pointed out to the judge that possessing an umbrella (my “crime”, according to my ticket) is not even illegal. The judge seemed annoyed at my reluctance to accept diversion versus taking it to trial.
I have since found out from LASD that all seven tickets were probably out of LAPD’s jurisdiction. Despite their illegitimacy, I am still dealing with five of them dating back to 2019.
This situation has, by design, rewarded us for lying about moving, punished us for honesty & shamelessly attempted to profit several thousands of dollars (or dozens of hours of unpaid labor) off of our situation by doubling the ticket amount with court fees before sending us into collections for over $1k/each.
Police harassment and judicial entrapment have forced us to make ourselves invisible in the past by not allowing us to have any possessions.
Avoiding criminalization means hiding in dangerous places like dark storm drains, where my partner nearly drowned, & venturing deep into the caverns of viaducts, where we nearly died after getting trapped in a fire.
We will have to return to those places as enforcement resumes against us.
Repeal LAMC § 41.18
