Tampa City Councilman Frank Reddick has met with members of Occupy Tampa about complaints about police harassment in Curtis Hixon Park, and has scheduled a discussion about the issue during tomorrow's Council meeting.
Occupy Tampa had been gathering at Gaslight Lykes Park during the days over the past few weeks – including major events on recent Saturdays – but after activists said they wanted to stay overnight in that park (which is not allowed by city ordinance), they were directed by Tampa Police to nearby Curtis Hixon Park, where some members have been sleeping overnight ever since.
Now some of the activists are complaining about being harassed with flashlights and even dogs in the early morning before dawn, but Tampa police says the rules agreed to by both parties was that they could sleep along the edge of the sidewalk near Ashley Drive, from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., but can't block the sidewalks after that.
This article appears in Oct 20-26, 2011.
