RIVERSIDE -- Police in Riverside are being accused of trashing a homeless encampment in the Santa Ana River riverbed in Riverside.
Officers raided the riverbed encampments near Van Buren Boulevard last week.
Authorities say it's unsafe for the homeless to be in the riverbed.
They also point to a shooting that happened along Hole Lake last week. In that incident, a 52-year-old transient was found shot in the calf. No arrests have been made.
Still, many of the homeless say police were overzealous in their efforts to clean up the riverbed.
They're accused of breaking personal items, crushing canned food and throwing clothes into the water. The transients alleged officers also cut up their tents and poked holes in water supply bottles.
Police also slashed the tires of some of the campers' bicycles, said Ruth Record of the Come As You Are Ministry, a group that advocates for the homeless.
Riverside Police Chief Sergio Diaz has opened an investigation into the allegations. He says he won't tolerate police destroying people's property.
Riverside has about 630 homeless people at any given time, but fewer than 10 percent stay in shelters. Most of the transients, according to the city's housing and neighborhoods division, stay in riverbed locations from Hole Lake to Fairmont Park.
Officers raided the riverbed encampments near Van Buren Boulevard last week.
Authorities say it's unsafe for the homeless to be in the riverbed.
They also point to a shooting that happened along Hole Lake last week. In that incident, a 52-year-old transient was found shot in the calf. No arrests have been made.
Still, many of the homeless say police were overzealous in their efforts to clean up the riverbed.
They're accused of breaking personal items, crushing canned food and throwing clothes into the water. The transients alleged officers also cut up their tents and poked holes in water supply bottles.
Police also slashed the tires of some of the campers' bicycles, said Ruth Record of the Come As You Are Ministry, a group that advocates for the homeless.
Riverside Police Chief Sergio Diaz has opened an investigation into the allegations. He says he won't tolerate police destroying people's property.
Riverside has about 630 homeless people at any given time, but fewer than 10 percent stay in shelters. Most of the transients, according to the city's housing and neighborhoods division, stay in riverbed locations from Hole Lake to Fairmont Park.
