Press Conference regarding Joe Woods' eviction, the 7 arrests, and hostage taking by the RPD
Channel: Rochester Indymedia
Date: 2015-06-22

ROCHESTER, NY - On the morning of June 17, 2015, MidFirst Bank, the Rochester City Marshal, and 15-20 Rochester police forcefully evicted Joe Woods and his family from their longtime home of 25 years at 394 Webster Ave, Rochester, NY 14614. In order to evict the family, 7 people were arrested, including one family member and 6 home defenders, chanting “Housing is a Human Right.” 

In September 2013, the Woods family successfully defended their home from a bank eviction. After protests, and the support of community members who were prepared to commit acts of civil disobedience to defend the human right to housing, MidFirst Bank and Rochester Police backed down. For more background on the first successful eviction defense and Woods family struggle to keep their home see: https://leftlaborreporter.wordpress.com/2013/09/30/blockade-stops-eviction-in-rochester-ny/

Police Escalation to Execute the Eviction used Extortion Tactic

This time Rochester Police escalated their tactics by using one of Joe’s daughters as collateral to coerce him to leave his home. Twenty year old Audrey was arrested and handcuffed after awakening to find police surrounding the house. She exited the home to see what was going on, and was arrested when she attempted to go back inside. After escorting her away, the police then used her as a bargaining chip to remove Joe and the rest of his family from the house. According to Mr. Woods, the police said, “We will release your daughter, if you leave your house.” Seeing the police threats were creating a volatile hostage situation and not wanting his daughter to be harmed, Mr. Woods agreed and vacated the house. Despite being assured that she would not be charged, when the police took him to retrieve his daughter, Woods learned that she had been charged with obstructing government administration. Meanwhile, Joe’s two other daughters were let into the house to retrieve their belongings, thus indicating their was no need to arrest Audrey in the first place, and providing proof that her arrest was a questionable ploy to scare Mr. Woods into leaving the home he did not plan to vacate.

On a national level, this immoral manipulation of Joe’s wish to protect his children is one of the largest escalations of police tactics used to displace black families. The Rochester police showed that they are capable of going to unconscionable lengths to support bank displacement of families in order to suppress their right to housing. Six other supporters were arrested for crossing the police barrier. Two of them were chained to the front porch via a concrete lockbox and were removed after the police sawed into the the concrete. Those arrested were following the adage, “When you come for one of our neighbors, you come for all of us.”

Demands 
Take Back the Land Rochester is calling for: 

    A moratorium on police enforced bank evictions. The City must insist that banks be partners in negotiating to keep homeowners in their homes, rather than profiteers looking for financial benefit. 
    An independent dual-track investigation into allegations of suppression of civil rights and the human right to housing for the Woods family and other struggling homeowners. An investigation into the underlying social, racial, and economic conditions that lead to police abuse and displacement of families of color..  
    Greater community control over land in the form of community land trusts which will stem the trend of mass displacement and unaffordable housing. 
    In order to stem the trend of police abuses around displacement and other forms of racial profiling, greater community control over the police in form of a Civilian Control Board of the Rochester Police which has power to set priorities, policies, and practices.