Alex Darocy Photography

Santa Cruz police initiated a raid at City Hall on November 23 at 3:30 am, shortly after it stopped raining that evening, to clear from the area approximately two dozen individuals who had been sleeping and sheltering themselves from the weather under the eaves of the buildings in the complex. Officers issued citations to individuals, and made one arrest. City Hall property is closed to the public between the hours of 10 pm and 6 am. Many of those sleeping at City Hall were participating in the weekly Freedom Sleepers sleep protest, while others were simply sheltering themselves from the wet weather temporarily with the group. SCPD officers wake up individuals sleeping at Santa Cruz City Hall to avoid the rain on November 23. The evening of November 22-23 marked the 72nd community sleepout organized by the Freedom Sleepers, a coalition of unhoused and housed activists who have been sleeping at Santa Cruz City Hall since July 4, 2015 to protest local laws that criminalize homele...

The family of Sean Smith-Arlt was interrogated in the District Attorney's office for 5 1/2 hours on the morning of Sean's killing by Santa Cruz police. The interrogation took place only two hours after they were first informed of Sean's death on October 16, according to family friend Don Payne. Payne spoke at a community forum organized by the Social Justice Alliance of Santa Cruz (SJA) at Peace United Church on November 1 to address Sean's killing. Payne said he was speaking in the "spirit of transparency" and that he meant no disrespect with his statements. He said that the sharing of information in the case was, "an opportunity to come together in the spirit of finding a solution." Sean was suffering from mental health issues at the time he was shot and killed by Santa Cruz police, who say they deemed him a threat when he advanced towards four officers with a garden rake in his hands outside of a home on the west side. Outside of the SJA foru...

A large group of community members in Santa Cruz attended the October 25 city council meeting to voice their concerns regarding the killing of Sean Smith-Arlt by Santa Cruz police. Many in attendance held protest signs with the pre-printed messages "Release The Videotape Now" and "We Will Remember Sean!" Sean was suffering from mental health issues at the time he was shot and killed by Santa Cruz police, who say he advanced towards them with a garden rake in his hands outside of a home on the west side on October 16. Four officers were involved in the incident, which occurred over the course of a 20 second time-span that ended with one of the officers shooting two shots at Sean. Abbi Samuels holds a protest sign as she waits to speak to the Santa Cruz City Council during oral communications One close friend of the Smith-Arlt family, Don Payne, spoke before the city council, saying he had spoken to them after Sean's killing. He described himself as havin...