A video depicting a homeless woman being heckled by police in West Virginia is seeing attention online. The man recording the video is then heard shaming the police as a result of them issuing a ticket.
TikTok user Revolutionary_xray (Xavior Linko-Looper) posted the video online where in gained several thousand Likes and several hundred comments.
In Xavior’s video, he is seen walking towards police, camera at the ready. A police officer gives him the OK on recording, but tells Xavior to stand back 30 feet, citing the “Halo Law.”
Xavior is heard confirming that they’re issuing a ticket to a houseless person for sleeping on the porch of a house that wasn’t occupied. “Are you proud of yourself? You feel good about that?” The police officers do little to defend themselves, other than shrugging and saying, “We’re doing our job.”
To this, Xavior responds, “Because [expletive] officers are here to arrest people, throw them into prisons, slavery, and fine people for literally [expletive] nothing.”
Viewers’ reactions to Xavior’s TIkTok video
In addition to supporting Xavior’s activism online, many chastised the police officer and the police in general. Many wondered why homeless people were treated so badly and wondered what the point of it was. “💯 They are definitely not here to serve and protect. That social contract never existed.” one TikTok user wrote.
Some wanted an explanation. “That’s really sad. If someone is homeless what choice do they have?” While the thread that followed suggested homeless shelters, it may be that a homeless shelter wasn’t close enough.
“It does feel like the officer is kicking somebody while they are down,” one viewer wrote. And as police, why not escort her to the nearest homeless shelter?
Another played devil’s advocate: “Someone owns that house…” they said, “They can do what they want with their own property.” Where’s the concern for the human being who’s unable to find a place to sleep?
One viewer wrote that it made her “sick” to see homeless get jailed for “tickets they can’t pay,” and advocated for a “better system.” There are millions of homes in the U.S. that are vacant. It could be done overnight!
Conversation continues as viewers ask why homeless are treated so poorly by police, and why there wasn’t an effort to be more understanding of the situation.
