A group of homeless people in West Virginia was recorded nearly being given tickets by several police officers, prompting a passing local to come to their aid and protest on their behalf.
TikTok user Revolutionary_xray, Xavior, posted the interaction online to his personal TikTok account. Xavior is heard asking the police, “Are ya’ll ticketing these people for resting on a public sidewalk?”
One of the people, a man in a wheelchair, claimed he was about to be ticketed for “trespassing” on a public sidewalk shortly after he stopped to help someone who wanted to use his phone.
Dumbfounded, Xavior asks for a copy of the ticket when he gets it, prompting one of the police officers to speak up. “We didn’t write anybody a ticket.” The police officer then claims they were called in about someone’s dog running by.
Xavior then tells the police he’ll continue recording “until it’s over.” Shortly after, the police get in their vehicles and no one is given a ticket.
In the caption of his video, he states: “You’ve gotta hold these pigs accountable. They were going to ticket half a dozen homeless people whose only crime was existing in public until I showed up with a camera and stood my ground. RECORD THE POLICE!!!”
Viewers share their disdain for police online
With a couple hundred comments and over 5,000 Likes, people flocked to Xavior’s TikTok video to shame the police online and give Xavior props for protesting on behalf of the group of homeless people.
“TRESPASSING ON A PUBLIC SIDEWALK?!” one viewer exclaimed in disbelief. In the thread that followed, a TikTok user shared a sign posted to a streetlight that reads: No Camping. “Not that I condone this whatsoever, but this now posted all over my city… it’s illegal to be houseless now,” they wrote.
One viewer asked a legitimate question: “How are they even going to be able to pay these tickets as unhoused people???” This opened a thread, with several TikTok users explaining that cruelty is the point. “It’s a pipeline to free prison labor,” said one, while another called it “cheap slave labor.”
Another viewer wrote a large reply to Xavior, agreeing that, had he not been there recording, the police would have written tickets. “When you asked that guy the wheelchair for something and wanted to show their whole demeanor change and say we’re not writing tickets.”
Xavior’s TikTok video sparked outrage online because of the situation. Many felt the police shouldn’t have been trying to essentially punish people who are already in a dire situation. It also shows the power of recording an unjust incident.
