A day after a video that showed a Downtown Ambassador assaulting a homeless man went viral, a group of activists held an action to denounce what they consider an ongoing pattern of harassment against those living on the streets.
The group of about 20 protesters held a press conference March 27 near the offices of the Downtown Berkeley Association, the group that hires the private security detail that roves the downtown, cleans the streets and helps keep sidewalks clear by interacting with the people who live outside. John Caner, the CEO of the DBA, announced Thursday that John D. Bailey, the ambassador filmed hitting a homeless man, James Wilbur Cocklereese, in an alley behind CVS Pharmacy on Shattuck Ave had been fired. He also expressed shock and remorse over the incident.
But some homeless people have said that pattern of behavior is typical.
“John Caner of the DBA says that this is contrary to his organization’s goals,” Ninja Kitty, a homeless man who has lived in Berkeley for over a decade, said in a press release. “But part of ambassadors’ job is to intimidate homeless people off of Shattuck Avenue. People are only intimidated if the violence is sometimes real. This brutality is a part of what the DBA does. This isn’t the first time that ambassadors have assaulted homeless people — it’s just the first time it’s been caught so well on camera.”
The assault happened around 7 p.m. on March 19 in an alleyway behind the downtown Berkeley CVS, at Shattuck Avenue and Bancroft Way. Two Downtown Ambassadors, Bailey and his partner, Carmen Francios, approached two homeless men, Cocklereese, 30, and Nathan Swor, 23. Cocklereese became upset and shouted invectives at Bailey, who then punched him at least 10 times, forcing him to the ground. Swor pulled out a weapon — a 6-foot-long pole with a 4-inch blade attached at the end — and started swinging it to prevent the attack. Bailey was cut in the arm.