Poverty is being treated in Eugene as if it is a crime. Selling drugs should not be a crime, and it's not worth beating someone up over. I would rather see the police enforcing traffic laws than arresting poor people for trying to make a buck the only way they can.

And good luck on finding those solid facts. So far all the RG has done on this incident is serve as a mouthpiece for the police. I've heard too much, for years, about them harassing the homeless downtown to take their statements on faith. I sent an email to the RG reporter who wrote the first article and got this back:

“You know me to be a hard working reporter, that's why I'm so surprised at your screed. If you'll thumb through the paper that day you'll see many, many column inches by me. That story was one in a series that will continue on into the future documenting all points of view.”

Actually I don't know her and I don't think producing "column inches", while not telling us what happened, is good journalism.