One person hit by bulldozer in violent police/DPW eviction of L and M st tent emcampments

Video: tent resident DOWN, cops get violent after occupied tent bulldozed 48 sec

Video: Dozer trashes tent after videographer warned of potentially being run down 1 min 56 sec

Video-Mike Murillo's clip of scene after attempt to bulldoze occupied tent 15 sec

Update: Bowser's tent removal program SUSPENDED after occupied tent bulldozed.

On the 4th of October, DC Mayor Bowser suddenly moved up an eviction of the L and M st unhoused encampments scheduled for two days later. MPD and DPW attacked with bulldozers and trash trucks, and one person was struck when an occupied tent was partially bulldozed. A cop had just screamed at the bulldozer driver to smash that particular tent. It has also been reported that a second person was knocked down by a recklessly operated dozer, but did not require a trip to the hospital. Earlier, an Indymedia vidoegrapher was told by cops he could be run down by a bulldozer that was about to move a tent to a trash truck.

The cop who ordered the bulldozer (technically a skid-steer loader) driver to smash the occupied tent has been identified as "officer" Ferretti, badge number 483. He should consider the fact that if Supreme Court "Injustice" Kavanaugh's home address can be found, his home address can be found too. Then come bullhorn-wielding protesters, naming and shaming the culprit in front of all his neighbors. After that he could have a lot of explaining to do.

The person hit by the dozer was reported to have been "injured but OK." Immediately afterwards, police became violent, assaulting several defenders of the encampments and/or mutual aid activists. One person was punched in the stomach by a cop. Lt Bagshaw was spotted, presumably he directed the violence. After the bulldozer "accident" DPW cleared out for the day, while an ambulance was summoned for the injured defender. It turns out the only reason DPW quit was that the union refused to do any more "work" in these conditions, it was NOT the city's decision to quit.

When the union bailed out, Mayor Bowser was left with some holdout tents not removed and at least some jersey wall anti-tent barriers not placed. With an uproar brewing in media like the DC'ist and WTOP over the injured unhoused person, Mayor Bowser was forced to suspend her tent-removal "initiative" with its fake housing program after the very first day.

Remora House reports that just 12 out of 60+ people in the tent cities ever received the housing Mayor Bowser promised them. Perhaps in the Mayor'e eye, such places as jail and the hospital count as housing? They "housed" one person in the hospital on October 4 for sure. Meanwhile, condo buildings are being built within sight of the underpasses, this is probably the reason for the aggressive eviction efforts. These condos will sit empty if their "New Washingtonian" customers have to share space with the unhoused.