Issue #3 Dec 2024
Stories from people who are and have been homeless in New Britain and around Connecticut. Edited and published by Dare to Struggle CT. Distributed by Homeless Liberation Initiative
Repeatedly Brutalized and Stalked by the Pigs
Marcin, a disabled homeless man in his 50s, has plenty of lived experience
to justify his distrust of New Britain police. We first met Marcin in May 2024
in Bristol. He showed us the puss draining out of his leg from an untreated
infection, as a result of being beaten and kicked in the leg by pigs while
they bulldozed his encampment back in 2023. The cut where they kicked
him got infected with maggots. Ever since then the police have stalked him,
have told him to move wherever he goes, and at times have beaten Marcin
before arresting him. “They either want me in a mental facility or jail.”
Forced to Move with Nowhere to Go
Just after midnight on June 11, 2024, 3 pigs surrounded and tased Marcin
in an empty parking lot on Cedar Street in New Britain and then brought
him to the mental hospital against his will. The reason? Earlier that day
Marcin had been issued a $75 “dumping ticket” and only had 12 hours to
clear the shopping carts full of his belongings. The cops didn’t care that
Marcin asked for more time to move, as soon as the 12 hours was up,
like heartless robots they violently removed Marcin from the parking
lot and called in the dump trucks to throw out his belongings.
The night of June 11th Marcin yelled, “You don’t want to talk to me, you want to hurt me! Leave me alone!” The cops did not leave him alone. “Come out from behind the van with your hands up!” one pig ordered. “Leave me alone! Don’t shoot me!” Marcin pleaded, audibly distressed and afraid. Does this sound like protecting and serving the general public?
Had Marcin not called us that day and we had not been there to film, who knows what would’ve happened.
Ignored by the Nonprofits
Marcin is also distrustful of nonprofits and the resources in town that are intended to help homeless people like him. When his leg wound was infected, he sought treatment at New Britain hospital but the staff there refused to treat him properly.
Marcin is also one of many people we know who has been banned from the Friendship Service Center in New Britain, with his ban dating back all the way to 2020. This means he can’t use the showers, laundry, or eat at the daily lunch distribution during the week.
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HOMELESS LIBERATION INITIATIVE
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People on the street need to hear your stories, your problems, your solutions. The rich, bosses, and landlords put us on the street. The politicians and nonprofits keep us here. We have to be the way out!
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