Days after a photo of an officer sharing a meal with a homeless man went viral, a very different visual shows a policeman throwing peanuts at a handcuffed homeless man who was trespassing in a Sarasota, Florida convenience store.
In a surveillance video shot on July 18, 44-year-old Randy Miller is taunted by Officer Andrew Halpin in the Sarasota County Jail. While his hands are cuffed behind his back, Miller tries to catch peanuts tossed at him by Halpin. Then he is seen crawling on the ground and picking up the food with his mouth. Halpin allegedly jeered at Miller and gave him dog commands, while his colleagues watched from another part of the room.
Chief Bernadette DiPino is currently investigating the incident. According to Vice President of ACLU Florida Michael Barfield, Halpin has a history of misconduct. Barfield has called for the officer’s termination.
Miller has been arrested by local officers several times for trespassing.
Watch the video here:
With all eyes on police misconduct, videos and witness accounts have captured the police brutality that many homeless people are confronted with nationwide. After finishing a 10-year stint in a mental health facility, Charly Keundeu Keunang was shot and killed on Los Angeles’ Skid Row by officers responding to a reported robbery. In Berkeley, California, James Cocklereese was repeatedly punched by an officer and then charged with seven misdemeanors. James Boyd was shot and killed in Albuquerque, New Mexico after officers approached him for camping in the city’s foothills. Police fired at him even though Boyd was complying with the officers’ orders. And in Orange County, California, Kelly Thomas died after he was brutally beaten for taking letters out of a trash can.
The trend can be attributed to the criminalization of homeless people, as cities pass ordinances to prevent them from sleeping or moving around in public places. More than half of U.S. cities ban people from resting in certain public spaces, and many cities prevent residents from sharing food with people living on the streets. Some people who give food to the needy have even been arrested for their efforts.