by Travis Mateer
To show you that it’s been YEARS of dealing with abhorrent behavior in the West Broadway Island area of Missoula, the screenshot above is from a 2021 article when an “urban camper” thought pulling knife on law enforcement was the appropriate response to being told to NOT CAMP in this part of town. From the link:
The Missoula Police Department has been conducting two daily sweeps on the West Broadway Island in the Clark Fork River, and officials decided to start a cleanup Tuesday night.
An increase in camping on the island prompted the action.
During Tuesday night’s cleanup, police said James Muster pulled a knife on an officer when he was asked to leave the island.
“We began to be concerned about the activities that may be going on down there and the people who are occupying or other persons who were continually at risk by persons of this nature,” Missoula Police Department public information officer Travis Welsh said.
During that cleanup, officers and volunteers counted 29 tents on the island, some occupied and others abandoned.
In addition to the violence associated with those living marginally, there’s also the fact that the West Broadway Island FLOODS during spring run-off. Despite these factors, that “houseless” guy on the Urban Camping Working Group thought standing his ground and NOT leaving was worth getting arrested for.
Here’s a brief description of how the programs intended to “help” someone like Brad apparently did the opposite:
From 2021 to 2023, Carlson stayed at the Temporary Safe Outdoor Space, he said. He was close to securing housing, but changeover in staff slowed the process. He eventually moved to the Johnson Street Shelter, where he said things started to fall apart.
Carlson said he quit his job at MOD Pizza shortly afterward, mostly because of the increased time he spent protecting his personal items at the Johnson Street Shelter.
After a couple weeks there, he took his chances outside.
Is theft at the Johnson Street shelter this rampant? Yes, I believe it is, and this isn’t the first story I’ve heard about theft derailing someone’s plans to get into more appropriate housing. I had a former client by the name of Geoff ALSO move from the Transitional Safe Outdoor Space (TSOS) to the Johnson Street shelter, where his phone was stolen FROM HIS POCKET while he slept.
After quitting his job to become homeless full time, Brad’s experience continued to be, unsurprisingly, NOT positive, especially when he refused to leave the West Broadway Island. Don’t worry, one of the activist Municipal judges (who had Westridge Creative help her get elected) threw out the case. Isn’t that nice, Brad? (emphasis mine):
On April 18, one day after the Missoula Urban Camping Working Group meeting, city police arrested Carlson for urban camping. After a judge threw out his case the same day, Carlson moved camps and was soon assaulted by a neighbor at his new location.
Carlson said he’s OK, but said the city has created a dangerous situation for those living on the streets. As the final meeting of the workshop approaches on Wednesday, Carlson said the city needs to give people a place to camp.
“I just would like to come up with a safe space for us to be immediately,” Carlson said to city council last week. “What we have going on right now is inadequate and doesn’t really help us. There’s a lot of us that don’t have a space to be.”
It appears NOTHING can really help someone like Brad, considering he stayed TWO YEARS at the “Transitional” Safe Outdoor Space, then attempted to use the Johnson Street shelter for assistance, yet he STILL ended up camping in an area where NO ONE should be allowed to camp. Why?
The fact Brad gets a seat at the table to complain about his life is incredibly obnoxious, especially since another member of this community is now facing CRIMINAL CHARGES for how he handled an interaction with this “houseless” man who started camping on his property. Will the judge in THIS case do the same thing done for Brad and THROW IT OUT?
Carlson said the decision to stand his ground was an “act of civil disobedience” to point out the inconsistency of city policies.
Carlson was released and returned to his camp, where he said he was immediately threatened with a rearrest for trespassing. He said he then packed his items and moved across the river near the Milwaukee Trail.
Roughly an hour after Carlson arrived, a man who lived in the neighborhood alleged Carlson was on private property and tried to confront him.
The neighbor, William Webster, allegedly left and returned with a weapon.
“He came with a weapon, like a rough-cut 2×2 that he sanded or fashioned a handle onto one end,” Carlson said. “It was unprovoked, I had never met this man before in my life. He just wacked me when I told him I wasn’t going to move.”
When police arrived, Carlson had pinned Webster to the ground, according to the police report. Carlson said he is a U.S. Army veteran and said he tried to deescalate the altercation.
Isn’t this fucked up? Here’s a KGVO article about this assault that Brad Carlson instigated, but didn’t get in trouble for.
From the link:
At approximately 2:40 p.m. on April 18, 2024, a Missoula Police Department Officer received a report of a disturbance at Dakota St. and N. California St. The reporting party stated a male attempted to assault his friend and his friend was holding the male down.
The officer began walking eastbound on the Milwaukee Trail and observed two males approximately 500 feet south of the trail. John Doe, who the officer recognized from a prior call for service earlier in the day, had several pieces of grass and dirt in his hair and on his shirt consistent with being in an altercation.
Doe stated he was sitting at his tent after being moved from his prior location earlier in the day. The officer observed Doe’s tent was a distance from the residences on N. California and appeared to be an easement, not owned by any resident in the area. Doe stated while sitting at his tent, he was approached by an unknown male with a 2×4 and then a “stick.” That male was identified as 66-year-old William Webster.
It’s amazing to me that some entitled members of our local “houseless” community are making the erroneous assumption that this town owes them housing when EVERYONE who isn’t independently wealthy is being squeezed right now.
In another KGVO article, Mike Colyer, Missoula’s Police Chief, specifically called out responses like the one required to deal with Brad’s altercation as taking up LOTS of police time and resources. Duh (emphasis mine).
Colyer said one of the biggest challenges to their service has been central to the issue of unhoused and unsheltered.
“The MPD is committed to being a problem-solving partner as we search for solutions to this circumstance,” Colyer said. “We have committed to proactive crime prevention efforts by conducting over 1,000 directed patrols at and around the Johnson Street shelter. When crime is reported in and around the shelters, we promptly investigate and refer those cases for prosecution.”
The “resolution” speculated on in Brad’s article is why I am openly and consistently now using the word RETARDED to describe our community’s leadership, and the pending results of this RETARDED working group is the “central issue” why I feel this trigger-term is warranted (emphasis mine):
Carlson told the Missoulian last week that the city must create a place for people to safely camp, otherwise he said the city could violate rights of homeless people.
“I’d like to make sure that we make some sort of resolution or codify that we don’t destroy and take people’s property,” Carlson said. “My kinda thing at the (working) group is to make sure nobody’s rights are violated.”
The Urban Camping Working Group has met four times to find a solution to people sleeping outdoors in Missoula. While the solutions have not been finalized, an additional space for people to camp is at the top of the list.
Maybe Brad and his fellow Working Group pals should review the part in Montana’s constitution that codifies NOT turning ideal river spots into trash pits where theft and violence regularly occur.
Or, here’s another idea: how about utilizing the resources and POSITIVE RESULTS of Kevin Davis and his successful efforts to transform the area around the Reserve Street Bridge, where encampments once sprawled. This effort is one I was DIRECTLY involved with helping to accomplish, since my previous job as the coordinator of the Homeless Outreach Teams entailed doing lots of positive work in this same part of Missoula.
Here’s the evidence of the good collaborative work that’s been done, but gets VERY LITTLE attention, since it makes so many of our influencers, like Susan Hay Patrick, look SO VERY bad.
Do we kick ass? Yes, we do. Will we keep kicking ass? Yes, we will. And if you would like to help the people doing REAL work (instead of just preparing to tell this burned-out community that there’s NO MONEY for their retarded ideas), then please consider making a donation to Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF).
Thanks for reading!