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Man attempts to set self on fire in protest

September 12, 2016

A man doused his body with lighter fluid Sunday and then attempted to light himself on fire in protest against the San Luis Obispo Police allegedly pushing homeless people out of the city.

On Sunday morning, the man was attempting to light himself on fire in front of the Barnes & Noble Bookstore on Marsh Street when police threw him on the ground. The man then yelled and cursed at police as they took him into custody.

Officers then took the man to a hospital before transporting him to a San Luis Obispo County Mental Health facility, said SLO Police Sergeant Fred Michael

Capt. Chris Staley said local officers have not been attempting to run the homeless out of the city.

“We are trying to do outreach to help the homeless,” Staley said. “We try to find what services they need, addiction, housing or mental health. We try to connect them with services, and what services to connect them with depends on the individual.”


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Don’t tell me fatboybcs, let me guess. I bet you’re a Christian!


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Someone should have told him that “Burning Man” ended a week ago!


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The homeless are homeless because they choose to live the homeless lifestyle. The claim that they are “victims” is BS.


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There is a small portion of the homeless community that “choose to live the homeless lifestyle” but the vast majority of them are there because of other problems. Some of those are of their own doing like addiction, but if you think most addicts want to be addicts — or homeless — you have no conception of what addiction is.


I suspect that the problem with your views is that you only notice the homeless that create problems and even then you only pay attention to descriptions of such people that allow you to be easily dismissive of them. How many people do you know that are one major medical emergency away from bankruptcy? How many people do you know that lack skills to make a living wage due to obsolete occupations that they were in for 20-40 years? Have you done anything positive to help such people or do you just deny their existence or do you simply not care if you do know of them?


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Most know exactly what addiction is; whether it be to caffeine, sugar, nicotine, alcohol, prescription drugs or whatever the “vice” may be. The difference is some choose to demonize one addiction over another, while others are condoned by society and line the pockets of large multinational corporations killing hundreds of thousands each year.


It is a known fact that if you took the highly addictive cigarettes and all other tobacco products laced with the deadly drug called nicotine off the market the health care system would see a significant drop in cost(s) which in turn would lower the cost of healthcare for all of us. The drug known as alcohol kills more people each year than all illicit drugs combined and is the drug of choice for most on the streets and it’s both legal and over abundantly available. So why are these legal and not the “illicit” drugs?


I’ve been on those streets struggling with addiction, it is lonely and unforgiving place to be; and when you combine those two debilitating circumstances with the overall apathetic attitude that most have towards those within that world It becomes a daunting task to overcome.


Most law enforcement personnel DO NOT practice the act(s) described by the gentleman in the artical, but some do. Those that do? Well, they do us all a disservice, as they do nothing but exacerbate the problem.


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Why is there also a SLOC Deputy in this photo? Did this incident require mutual aid? Did the ridiculous SLOFD T1 happen to respond?


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Ladies & Gentlemen,


We must deal with the homeless in a way that is both firm AND compassionate.


Guess what? Our local law enforcement largely does that, and their dealings with the homeless and transient populations are difficult because they are trying to balance the civil liberties issues with protecting and serving the larger community.


Just as the vulnerable population deserves to be treated with dignity, permanent residents deserve to live in a safe and secure community.


Josey


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I agree, As a local tax paying resident of the community who is regularly subjected to aggressive homeless panhandlers sitting on the sidewalks along Higuera with their legs extended, blocking the paths of pedestrians, and the aggressive profanity-spewing homeless men who terrorize passers-by near Broad and Marsh, I maintain that law enforcement is far too permissive of the homeless which loiter downtown.


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“Permanent” and “Larger Community”? Could this be code words for more important? Or more worthy? You betcha! Your community includes these human beings! And if it doesn’t? It’s pretty damn small on so many different levels…..


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These are human beings Fatboy, not birds. I understand you have a sense of superiority over your fellow man and I dont expect you to think differently any time soon. Not everybody gets dealt a fortunate hand as you


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Placement Rep: “Let’s see here. You tried to set yourself on fire once with lighter fluid in one hand and a zippo in the other and failed? We may have a placement for you on the city council.”


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Thumbs up for the police conducting outreach on individual needs. Our county needs an inpatient rehab for drugs and alcohol.


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“Query” Does an organism (society) have an obligation to support elements of itself that do not contribute to its enhancement and survivability?


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Yes. Society isn’t some exclusive club for those who are more capable then others, it’s inclusive of all us.


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They should run out all of the homeless, unless they have a former local address! Most of the people who are “homeless” are simply loser transients. Stop filling the bird feeder and the birds will stop coming.


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Shut up!!!!!


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And what do we need to stop filling to stop people like you from coming?


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His fatboy tank mounted on his big wheel!


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The taxpayer funded trough.


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You mean bird seed like this?

http://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/2015/san-luis-obispo/stephen-l-gesell/


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