Daniel Davenport storms away from APD Friday morning last week
The "streets of Amherst" will be shy one of our regulars for a while as Daniel Davenport was arrested last week about 12 hours after I took his photo stomping away from the Amherst police department angry about a perceived mistreatment.
In Eastern Hampshire District Court on Monday the Commonwealth had his bail revoked from a previous case of Breaking & Entering where he was found guilty and both cases will be reviewed on November 29th.
Just last night an officer on patrol called Dispatch to have them leave a note for DPW that the lower level of the parking garage was a total mess, with trash and debris strewn about and an overpowering stench from feces and urine.
Click to enlarge/read
So much of this homeless crisis is substance abuse mental health related which drives crime...I remember Amherst nitwits signed a huge petition drive and did a now defunct Al Jazeer tv Special on an Amherst break in substance abuse-home invasion robbery convict/suspect whose gang did crimes in Leverett-our home was robbed of cherished family heirlooms... pawned to support drug habits...you wonder how these Amherst apologist live with themselves and such a totally negligent/ inappropriate attitude towards this serious problem..so much for an " Uber Gifted Wunderkinden " take on homeless substance abuse/ robbery/home invasion/crime....really makes you wonder ???!!!$&@
ReplyDeleteThe real problem is this: none of these fools are from Amherst. Once we opened this shelter (and let it go wet) we inherited everyone else's problem children. Once you start feeding the cat at the back door he/she will howl every night for more. We give it to them too...
ReplyDeleteINVITE THE BLIGHT!! Another solid "well done" for our town. Keep stepping on our collective dicks.
So now the police are free to steal a man's property and he gets arrested for objecting?
ReplyDeleteLarry, what if he'd been Black?
And where the hell is the ACLU on this?
Larry, if you do not respect the property of a poor man, do not expect him to respect yours.
Just treating him the same as one of our beloved college students found with an open container on public property.
ReplyDeleteLarry, British soldiers did similar things, we fought a revolution over that.
ReplyDeleteSo that's where the song "Fight for your right to parrrrrrrty" came from.
ReplyDeleteLarry you aren't that stupid. You may not have read Locke, but the 14th Amendment's "due process" clause?
ReplyDeleteHow'd you like it if someone destroyed B2 on a pretext?
ReplyDeleteLarry, answer this: Why shouldn't he go kick over headstones in the cemetery?
Respect for the property of others won't exist without respect of your own property.
We all benefit from a society in which our property is secure.
I hope that shelter closes except to those indigent, unfortunates who grew up in our town. We have only invited trouble. I have stopped shopping and eating downtown because many of the homeless are just too aggressive. I do not like being frightened by these people.
ReplyDeleteI do not like drunkenness or drug abuse and I feel badly for these people but sheltering them while they participate in these activities and giving in to their begging, only enables the undesired behaviors.
Amherst should find ways to help our own destitute but we cannot take every other homeless person in the valley. Each town or city needs to assume responsibility for their own.
What kind of civilized person urinates and defecates in the public garage? Aren't there laws about public decency?
If B2 got caught carry illegal drugs I would fully expect The Man to confiscate her.
ReplyDeleteEd, we can smell everyone of your posts.
ReplyDelete3:53 -- How do you define paranoia?
ReplyDeleteJust askin....
The lack of punctuation in the first post is appalling.
ReplyDeleteI agree with anon 3:53...if ed were only have as clever as he thinks he is....!
ReplyDeleteWhatever. I like to think I am not the only person who believes in due process and civil rights, but whatever.
ReplyDeleteLarry, I can't go to the Hampster protest tomorrow, not with your views here -- you are no better than the schmucks at Hampster.
Larry, you are pissing on the veteran's graves.
Can't we just include housing in Obamacare and require people to have it?
ReplyDeleteFirst poster went back and edited to add some ellipses. Classic.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you care so much about the first poster and his or her punctuation?
DeleteWhat property was missing/stolen? Where did it say that? The cops "stole" what exactly?
ReplyDeleteI think he's talking about the illegal alcohol.
ReplyDeleteWhenever someone anyone is arrested they are separated from their personal items. If you read the report Davenot immediately began yelling at the officer abt taking his property. I assume because he knows the open container laws in our town, he knew he was busted, and it probably wasn't his first time getting caught with open container. If Davenport had respected the laws of this town or at least been savy enough to go off and drink in the woods somewhere, like the teenagers do, he wouldn't have gotten caught or had to worry about losing his alcohol. Anyway thanks for the heads up on the problems with the parking garage. I will be avoiding parking there !
ReplyDeleteWhatever you do, make sure you yell at your arresting officer. They love that. Wouldn't you?
DeleteRebecca, this is the exact same thing as Asiha Hiza, someone being silenced by the corrupt ruling cadre. As CAN-12:09 points out, this was no more about "illegal" alcohol than Hiza's trespass was about her being dangerous.
ReplyDeleteYou honestly don't think this wasn't retaliation for him having said something a few hours earlier to the town manager?
Not that one will, but any competent attorney could drive a truck through the holes in the officer's story, starting with asking the officer to identify the person whose peace Davenport disturbed (which is what he was arrested for). Yep....
And as to the lower level of the garage, two words: Security Camera -- if there really is a problem down there, that's what you do.
Like I said, I'm offended by this for the same reason I was offended by what happened to Aisha, that little "due process" thing.
I see your point Ed but I still after 48 years have a belief in our men in blue especially the ones on our town. I still am good hearted by nature and believe people are good hearted and don't do things just because they can. I know I wear rose colored glasses. However I also believe in karma and what comes around goes around. I also believe that people need support even if you don't agree entirely. Emilia has some good karma coming her way. I used to support two of our homeless ppl in town. They are both gone now Heroin... I was naive, gave them jobs, they peddler drugs out of the work place. Brought one to detox in westfield, cooley dick another time. We all have choices homeless or not and we go through some tough stuff.. it is those choices the everyday I'm not going to use choice, the I'm not going to drink today, etc... knowing the laws of society that define what happens to us next. Daniel is in jail because he made bad choices over and over again. I hope he turns out to be stronger than the people I tried to help and gets clean and stays clean. Rip zach and traci
DeleteLarry it may not have occurred to you that you have trampled upon this man's civil rights ~ but you have. Twice. First in publishing his photograph without his consent and then publishing the police report you should not even been allowed to have. Daniel went to detox for 5 days about 2 weeks ago. when he came out of detox his bed at the shelter had been given to someone else so he was forced to sleep in the parking garage. and I know for a fact Daniel bought bleach to clean up an area of the parking garage to sleep in ~ because he did not have any other place to sleep. and yes he began drinking again with a few of the other homeless men on the street. a shame because he was doing really well after being in detox. Daniel had a right to be angry. Officer Nagel had opened his backpack, took out his bottle of alcohol and dumped it out on Friday. at which point he wrote up at report on Officer Nagel at the Town Hall. Daniel was upset all weekend due to what happened. and then an officer chooses to follow him into the parking garage. other homeless people sleep in the parking garage. not just Daniel. you should not write such articles about people you do not know. this man you wrote about was beaten up by 7 Puerto Rican teenagers 1 1/2 years ago causing him to be blind when he was walking home from where friends dropped him off from work 3 houses from his home. Would you enjoy being blind, broke, and homeless forced to sleep in a parking garage. I do not think so.
ReplyDeleteHe was not forced to sleep in the parking garage. No one can be. You could have housed him...
DeleteI forgot to mention in my 2 earlier comments. Daniel is a Vet having served in North Dakota protecting nuclear weapons for 4 years. so he could attend UMASS Amherst. Daniel is a graduate of UMASS Amherst in Electrical Engineering. just so you know.
ReplyDelete"Forced" to sleep in the parking garage. Again, why did you not rescue him?
DeleteYour info is very misleading. I was very good friends with dan before he was over come with addiction. I even helped him and his ex wife while they went through rehab. Gave him a place to stay and all.
DeleteQuestion- Will legal pot make any of this tragedy better ?
ReplyDeleteA legally blind man is a threat to three police officers?
ReplyDeleteThank you, Emilie, for bringing Daniel's humanity to the forefront.
ReplyDeleteThank you Emilie for writing so caringly. Seemingly.
DeleteWho needs personal accountability? That's crazy talk. Defecate all over public parking spots, get wasted in public, yell at the police, then cry over the consequences. Because I want to bring my children near where this person is using the parking lot as his personal bathroom and I want to bring my children past this man who is obviously drunk and angry. Oh wait, again more crazy talk. What rights do I have for a reasonable safe environment downtown? I should just endure this man's aggressive panhandling and behavior. I should simply explain to my children then in Amherst this is OK.
ReplyDeleteThis is so cut and dry. I really hope anyone with an addiction has the strength of will to overcome it. Sounds like this gentleman was given the tools but continues to make bad decisions. This is not the fault of the people of Amherst.
to those of you who have asked why I did not houses him. I did. for as long as Amherst housing would allow me to. 21 days in an entire year. I live in charming Chestnut Court public housing. but it comes with rules. I fed him spaghetti that Sunday evening. and sent him out to stay at the shelter. BUT because he had gone up to a detox program in Greenfield for 5 days he came back to Amherst to find he had lost his bed at the shelter due to others taking his spot. that is why he had to sleep in the parking garage. and no no one should have to sleep in a parking garage. tomorrow (Tuesday November 29th) is Daniel's sentencing hearing. I am not sure how I am going to get out to the courthouse in Belchertown tomorrow morning ~ as I do not have a vehicle. but I will try to be there. and if anyone following these comments believes in prayer please pray for Daniel. Daniel is about to be given his disability. after over a year and a half of waiting. and hopefully someone will be willing to rent him a place to live even though Larry has written so publicly of Daniel here on his blog. Daniel simply needs a break. I can not imagine being blind, and homeless and now in jail. when I first invited him to stay in my living room months ago 2 days after he came to stay with me a tree fell on his tent that had been set up down behind Big Y. had he still be sleeping in that tent he might have died. that was back in early August. it is now late November. Daniel deserves a place to live so he is not having to be out on the street. Daniel would not be in this situation had he had a place to stay other than the parking garage that Sunday evening.
ReplyDeleteDo our taxes need to go to his housing? Why not mine?
DeleteLarry:
ReplyDeleteMy hat is off to you, you do a great job reporting, but you have some real wimps that write on your blog. I appreciate that you let them spout off under their anonymous cover.
David Farnham
Why does Larry offer the anon option?
ReplyDelete-Sherry Corcoran
Just because I do doesn't mean you have to hide behind it, as most do.
ReplyDeleteMemory is that the Puta bus goes to downtown Belchertown and then there is a link from there to the court.
ReplyDeleteRebecca, I tried to help a troubled young man who had worn our country's uniform in time of war, with different but similar results.
ReplyDeleteFERPA precludes me giving the details, but you'd have a very different opinion of the local constabulary if you know what I do.
Dr Ed ~ I have felt we were fortunate to have a kinder than most police department in the years I have lived in Amherst ~ until spending time with Daniel the past 4 months. in a phone conversation with Daniel yesterday he told me there were 4 officers in the garage Sunday evening ~ and that one of them beat him up. the officer that beat him up was not a voice he recognized. so I would now tend to agree with you with regards to some officers of the Amherst Police. Had officer Mike Barone been on duty Sunday evening I doubt the incident with Daniel would have happened. Mike makes an effort to talk with the homeless. to understand the homeless. perhaps more than other officers.
ReplyDeleteI did not go to the Belchertown courthouse this morning. yes there is a PVTA bus but it does not go to the courthouse. and no there is not a link to the courthouse from the center of town. it is a 1.3 mile walk from the bus stop to the courthouse. due to the icy rain this morning I chose not to travel to the courthouse this morning ~ wary of possibly slipping on the icy sidewalk to the courthouse. due to my falling on my head a number of months ago I must be more careful walking during inclement weather. I am still waiting to hear what happened in court with Daniel.
and to the person who wrote a post concerned of his child being subjected to the goings on in the parking garage. I would agree with you. one should protect one's children from possible harm. had the shelter created in Amherst NOT been a wet shelter we would not have many of the homeless that hang out on the streets of Amherst as they have come up here from elsewhere. I believe Daniel is an exception to that in that he chose Amherst ~ after being beaten up in Springfield ~ because he graduated from UMASS here.
Daniel has wanted to make Amherst his home. but in speaking with him yesterday he told me he may have to go elsewhere as he does not believe the Amherst police will leave him be ~ even after he receives his disability. once he has an apartment he would not be out on the street. even though he is blind he can still play the guitar, and enjoys listening to 'talking' books I found at Jones library for him. for him to feel the necessity of leaving now is a direct result of 2 particular police officers choosing to target him since he arrived in Amherst last November. I certainly do not know how to 'fix' the situation. the damage, the harm has been done.
and Rebecca ~ thank you for your kind words with regards to my choosing to assist Daniel. I would have done more had Amherst Housing not hampered my efforts. I had asked Amherst Housing for an extension but they refused. and several residents of Amherst Housing have chosen to object to Daniel being here even though they have not spent any time getting to know him. Daniel planted a small garden of lettuce on my side stoop. It made him happy. Those lettuce plants are still growing. very hardy plants. I can only hope that Daniel is just as hardy as those lettuce plants.
I am at a total loss to understand where this "21 day" rule is coming from -- I think it is being fabricated.
ReplyDeleteChestnut Court is a state Chapter 667 project, someone ought to ask Stan Rosenburg why the hell she can't have him living with her if she wants to. After all, the purpose of public housing is to house people.
The only thing the AHA can do is require him to contribute 30% of his income toward the "household" rent (in addition to the 30% of her income, which is what the rent currently is) although 30% of zero is zero. Maybe the 21/365 day rule is an exemption to having pay the 30%, but the AHA can't ask questions about the nature of the relationship, nor establish a minimum tenure of residence.
There are also aspects of sex discrimination here, which isn't surprising when you look at who is currently running the AHA.
In fact, had Daniel been female, the AHA would have immediately provided housing when "she" left rehab -- they have an entire "women-only" building (99 Bridge Street) and otherwise they'd immediately issue "her" a Section 8 Voucher, waiting list notwithstanding. Yes, there are real issues with sex discrimination and the AHA, but I digress.
But the purpose of the AHA is to prevent homelessness, and hence someone ought to ask Senator Stan why the hell the AHA is preventing a homeless man from being housed...
http://www.mass.gov/hed/economic/eohed/dhcd/
ReplyDeleteHelps to run to NELCWI and Umass Every Woman's Center every time one perpetrates some moral outrage of a questionably morally/ethically challenged nature.then expect automatic protection/ housing- say it isn't so-must be nice-YES- that's housing discrimination- "Feminist-how can a woman " Always be right"-...HuH ??!$&@
ReplyDeletethe stipulation of 21 days was put into our new leases this past spring as it was not as defined as clearly in previous leases. the added clause defining the 21 days being within a year's time. Chestnut Court is state funded. different than other projects that may be federal funded that do not have the same restrictions. I could pull out my lease to be able to write the exact wording if someone would like. in the lease there is also a clause that at the discretion of AHA staff an extension can be given. I requested an extension. it was important to me to do it all legally. and Amherst Housing turned me down. said no.
ReplyDeleteif I wanted him to stay longer I could apply to have him on my lease ~ but that is a very stringent process requiring a cory check requiring Daniel to adhere to all the same rules I agreed to when I signed my lease. I have not chosen to go through that process. I merely wanted to offer him a temporary place to stay in my living room rather than placing the man on my lease. Would be quite difficult to ask Daniel to leave if he were placed on my lease.
but then there was also dealing with objections from several residents living in Chestnut Court not wanting him here even though he was not causing any difficulty in staying here. 2 woman actually made up a story of people staying in our community room about the time I was requesting for him to stay longer. no one has been staying in our community room. it was all made up. another resident let me know he heard the 2 women discussing their plan. lovely huh? which led to Daniel not being able to remain in my home.
I still do not know what happened in court today. have not heard from Daniel as I expected to.
667 is state funded. "Discretion of AHA" is a due process violation, the state doesn't get discretion, it has to treat everyone equally. Not sure if the clause would pass DHCP muster, doubt it.
ReplyDeleteThe whole thing gives legitimacy to the BLM message.
finally heard from Daniel this evening. He will be in Hampshire County Jail until December 21st. but hopefully by that time he will have his disability income that has been approved and will be able to rent an apartment with proper paid PCA's. a totally different life. soon. no one should have to sleep in a parking garage. even as nice a one as ours in Amherst. no one.
ReplyDeleteThank You for caring-Emilie , I realize it is just very tragic and frustrating when-people-Fall through the cracks-the " system can be so heartless and cruel-then there are people who say they care about people-easy to be cruel-from your busy-body detractors-to bureaucratic apartik cynics-especially as we celebrate Jesus Mary and Joe- homeless in Bethlehem- on Christmas Day in the morning-the spirit is with you - may mercy prevail !!!
DeleteA month in jail for being beaten up by the "police" -- I think the folk at Hampshire are protesting the wrong things.
ReplyDeleteSorry Larry, I can't support your Hampshire protest, though.
While I disagree with some of your points Emilie, they seem to enable in my opinion, I respect that you did more than complain and tried to help, opening your home.
ReplyDeleteI hope he gets "right" and off the booze. Until that happens we'll continue to read stories about his aggressive behavior when he's drunk in public. Eventually, and unfortunately, if he continues to be drunk in public there will be a serious injury.
Daniel was telling me the truth about being beaten up. I spoke with several of the homeless this morning at the Unitarian Universalist free Wednesday morning breakfast. there were a number of homeless in the parking garage at that time who witnessed Daniel being 'slammed' by one of the Amherst police officers. either not being very careful not to harm someone in front of witnesses or simply think they can get away with their behavior. this is Amherst ~ not Springfield or Holyoke.
ReplyDeleteThe Amherst Police Department has a complaint/grievance process, so if he feels his rights were violated he should fill out the form. Chief Livingstone takes such things seriously.
ReplyDeletethank you Larry. whether Daniel chooses to file a complaint is up to him. the witnesses to the assault on Daniel in the parking garage that night would have to be willing to be named as witnesses. otherwise it would simply be Daniel's word against the officer's word. I will be speaking with Daniel over the coming 3 weeks. the situation will be discussed. but I would prefer focusing on Daniel's future. on his finding a place to live. rather than his having to address the issue of police behavior.
ReplyDeleteand to the person who wrote above hoping Daniel would stay sober ~ that is my hope as well. but that is up to Daniel. Daniel is not accustomed to being in jail. know he does not want to go back. staying sober may be easier to do if Daniel is not spending hours out on the street, and not having to sleep in the parking garage. back when Daniel was working as a contractor and electrician he would drink after work ~ but not has he has done the past year living on the street.
"The Amherst Police Department has a complaint/grievance process, so if he feels his rights were violated he should fill out the form. Chief Livingstone takes such things seriously."
ReplyDeleteMuch like Maria Geryk would take such things seriously -- and she would have.
If you really think he is a "Boy Scout". I'll see if I can dig up a .pdf of a Null Prosque that ought to have cost the town a 6-figure sum -- Judge Payne was p*ssed when he figured out what the AFD was attempting to allege, he counseled the ADA of "the wisdom of" not bringing that charge back into his court.
Like I said, if you think Chief Livingstone takes this stuff seriously (I don't), let me know.
You know who I am and how to reach me.