California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued new legal guidance requiring law enforcement officers intervene to prevent illegal or "self-help" evictions and keep people housed.
ByZack Haber Four protestors crouch behind and hold shields on a tract of CalTrans owned land next to Mosswood Park in North Oakland on January 28. Another protestor, Annmarie Bustamante (right), stands next to the shield holders. A homeless resident (back center right) gathers his belongings during a clearance. Photo by Zack Haber.
While facing intense rain and protests on January 27 and 28, California Highway Patrol officers and California Dept. of Transportation (CalTrans) workers cleared tents, trash, broken branches, and homeless people from a tract of CalTrans-owned land that sits between Mosswood Park and the 580 Freeway in North Oakland.
CalTrans referred to the operation as a cleaning. Activists, local civil rights lawyers, and the site’s residents called it an eviction. Two residents successfully resisted being removed from the site and stayed on the tract of land.