A court-appointed defense attorney for Dukes County said she’s seen an increase in additional charges pressed against individuals experiencing homelessness on the Island following a state-ordered clearing of the State Forest last month.
Public defender Casey Dobel said that after being ousted from Manuel F. Correllus State Forest in the end of July, and with nowhere to go, the unhoused are often in public, which increases the probability that they’ll get the police called on them.
At the end of July, in an effort to mitigate fire risks and uphold the law, state officials hired a contractor to clean up a number of encampments in the State Forest, which they said they’ve done in prior years. Some Island officials said that about two dozen individuals were displaced, and some lost personal items, like medication and identification, during the clearing.
One such individual is George Baird who was summoned to Edgartown District Court for charges of assault and battery on a household member and disorderly conduct. He appeared before Judge Joseph Hurley on Monday. Dobel, as his legal representation, told the judge on Monday that Baird is a father and tribal member who was homeless in the State Forest, and that the trauma of his removal triggered a relapse with substance use.
According to a police report of the charges, Officer Steven Mathias was dispatched to a home in Aquinnah Saturday morning to respond to an alleged disturbance between Baird and his wife. In what Mathias called an agitated state, Baird allegedly advanced toward him, despite multiple requests to back up before the officer tased Baird. He then transported Baird to jail that morning, and filed a criminal complaint. Mathias later learned from another officer that his wife said Baird had been physically aggressive with her.
On Monday, Hurley set Baird’s bail at $100 without prejudice. As of Wednesday, he’s being held at Dukes County Jail and House of Correction.
At the hearing, Dobel said that Baird’s story is similar to her other clients. For privacy reasons, she told The Times that she couldn’t say how many people she represents were impacted by the state-ordered clearing of the homeless encampments, but that it’s “a chunk of people” who lost their sanctuary.
The defense attorney said blame shouldn’t be placed on any one party. It’s not the fault of the police officer, the person who called the police concerned about an unhoused person, or the person experiencing a crisis, Dobel said. “It’s just an unfortunate reality of the world that we live in,” she added.
“They’re not necessarily dangerous or scary people, but they will, sometimes, if something’s going on, behave in a way that might startle some people, or might upset some people,” Dobel said.
The recent eviction from the State Forest could be one such trigger, she said.
Island law enforcement say that they have responded to some calls relating to unhoused individuals, but that there isn’t necessarily an increase, or a correlation to the clearing of the State Forest.
Police are on higher alert in the summer, and there’s more people around to take note of an unhoused person, Dobel said. Sgt. Max Sherman of Tisbury Police wasn’t sure if there was a correlation between additional charges and the clearing of the forest. Oak Bluffs Chief Jonathan Searle also said he didn’t particularly see a connection.
Lieut. Chris Dolby of Edgartown said their department deals with six to eight unhoused individuals, and that from his perspective, they’re picking up charges because they’re committing crimes. He said he can’t make a correlation between what happened two weeks ago and the town’s crime rate.
But Dobel said that forcing individuals out of the shelter in the State Forest has triggered an increase in relapses. Dobel said she couldn’t say the forest clearing was the only reason, but that stressors involved in losing all of their personal effects can trigger relapses.
A lot of these people, many of whom, she said, are born and raised Islanders, work very hard to try to get sober, Dobel said. “But losing all of your belongings … all of your medication, all of your life essentially, some of them are going to turn to their tried and true coping mechanism. And that’s just human nature. That’s not anything special to the homeless population,” she said.
She acknowledged that living in the State Forest is illegal, but “just because something is illegal doesn’t mean it is morally or ethically wrong,” she said. They weren’t bothering anyone in the State Forest, she added.
Meanwhile, across the country, reports of homeless arrests and evictions have increased. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier this summer that cities can criminalize homelessness and ban people from camping or sleeping in public.
Dobel said that there is an unwritten Island rule joked about in the Dukes County courthouse. That is, “Whatever you do, don’t scare the tourists.”
This story’s headline and lead paragraph are written to lead readers to conclude that the state Division of Conservation Resources enforcement of the no-camping rule in Manuel F. Correllus State Forest has led to an increase in criminal complaints against the “unhoused.”
In the second paragraph, public defender Casey Dobel said, “… with nowhere to go, the unhoused are often in public, which increases the probability that they’ll get the police called on them.”
Just by being in public? Deep into the story, the sensible Edgartown Police Lieutenant Chris Dolby of Edgartown states: “… they’re picking up charges because they’re committing crimes.”
The Times does not balance Ms. Dobel’s unchallenged conclusions until the eleventh paragraph. Island law enforcement said they have “… responded to some calls relating to unhoused individuals, but that there isn’t necessarily an increase or a correlation to the clearing of the State Forest.”
Ms. Dobel, a lawyer, says that “just because something is illegal doesn’t mean it is morally or ethically wrong.” There is no follow-up question, just a pass on the notion that it is fine for people needing social services to camp on protected conservation property, where they are at risk of a host of tick-borne diseases and without access to cooking or restroom facilities.
Conservation land is not the backstop.
Nelson, great comment, clear and concise. This headline is fake news. Ms Casey Dobel’s remarks are unsubstantiated by facts and obviously based on one client George Baird. Dobel’s comment is one sided conversation potentially fear mongering. Baird’s wife reported him and police tasered him because he was a threat. The police arrested Baird because he was a danger to a family member. Obviously he was not unhoused.
“Lieut. Chris Dolby of Edgartown said their department deals with six to eight unhoused individuals, and that from his perspective, they’re picking up charges because they’re committing crimes. He said he can’t make a correlation between what happened two weeks ago and the town’s crime rate.”
Please note that police will arrest individuals committing crimes in public whether or not they are unhoused. Thank you to the police for protecting both residents and offenders.
MVTIMES please do a fair and based investigation for both sides of your stories.
I can remember more than once under different editorial staff when the Times just took law enforcement’s word for things without question. The editorial decisions may be different now but, they are certainly no worse than in the past.
Can we go back to who led the MVTimes to the homeless encampment to generate the story that likely led to their ouster from the State forest camping area? What was his purpose besides his personal frustration dealing with the people he calls regulars in ‘his ‘ town?
Re ““But losing all of your belongings … all of your medication, all of your life essentially, some of them are going to turn to their tried and true coping mechanism.”
This should never have happened—collecting all of a person’s belongings and throwing them away.
This would be extremely stressful to any person—return to your home, wherever it is, and your personal belongings have disappeared—and to me it indicates a lack of basic human empathy and of common sense.
There had to be another way to handle the order to clear illegal encampments from the State Forest than just throwing away personal belongings.
I don’t know why islanders have this fantasy that people behave well when they think no one is watching or they believe they are not morally accountable. Yes, some do the right thing, but most do not. Most places if you accidently leave your nice gloves on the table in a cafe and go back to retrieve them 5 minutes after you’ve left the restaurant, your gloves will be history.
I used to accidentally leave my purse all over the island. I’d set it down somewhere and forget to pick it up. I lost my purse at different farm or flower stands, the Chilmark porch, picnic tables, the steamship authority. I always got it back, but things are different now, people are different.
If this island can accept mcmansions, broken windmill parts, dead seals and whales on the beaches, deadly mopeds for rent, and dopes protesting anything remotely Jewish, they can accommodate a year round shelter for the unhoused. Just do it.
Jackie– I actually thought you might get all the
through a rational comment without bringing up
Jews. Oh well, maybe next time.
We can only hope…
But as for things being different;
I think your perception of reality has been altered to believe
the fear mongering from your newly found conservative “values”.
Just yesterday the world’s most prolific liar stated that it
was not a crime to shoplift in Ca. if it was under $950,
and that Kanala was responsible for that law.
It’s complete BS , but his pathological believers eat it up by the
shovel full.
He and his media minions also regularly state that crime is going
up when in fact it is dropping significantly, across
nearly every category according to the lying
FBI, Justice department, homeland security as
well as stale and local police
And they are even including the one man crime wave that
lives at Merry-Leggo
Keller, your Trump hate-rants under every story, no matter the topic, put you in the position of being a hypocrite when you object to my comment. You contradict yourself here as well. You congratulate one poster for mentioning Jews, yet have a fit that turns into a rant because I mention Jews in my comment, another aspect of your antisemitic attacks against Jews but not others who do the same thing, lol. I guess you forgot to express the liberal left’s fake empathy for those in the minority who suffer life’s inequities, like homelessness. How you manage to turn every story into a hateful obsession with Trump and a hatred for Jewish individuals is beyond me. Heaven help the poor MVTimes comment moderator if Trump wins in November. He has to read all your rants, you know. He reads mine too, but mostly censors them. I can only imagine the ones of yours that don’t get through, lol.
Hello Jackie, nice to meet you here. I have a wonderful place the homeless shelter can find a home. A former president has a sprawling estate right on the water with many, many acres of habitable land. Nature’s bounty are in the sea and salt pond, deer abound. What a perfect spot to put his money where his mouth is. Should we start a Give-Send-Go fund for such a purpose? Perhaps the Obama Foundation could jump start the campaign.
John– I doubt the secret service would go for it.
But why do you suggest Obama should be the one
to do this ? Correct me if I am wrong, but don’t you
own waterfront property where deer abound ?
There are hundreds of sprawling waterfront estates
on this island.
Yet you suggest only one to do this.
Your Obama derangement syndrome is showing.
John, Great idea. There are many democratic mayors of BLUE sanctuary cities that are bankrupt from caring for hundreds of thousands of aliens. He can open his heart, his estate and his wallet to share with all newcomers.
I highly doubt Obama, or any other wealthy politician, is going to fund a year-round shelter. Would be nice, but we can’t wait on him to do so. Folks need assistance now, and it falls to the community as a whole.
Sometimes we have to put aside national politics and focus on the issue that needs tackling.
John– If Obama can host them here during the summer,
would you think trump could host them in the winter ?
He has a lot more money and property than Obama after all
and I haven’t seen any of the conservatives here claiming that
these people are “illegal immigrants” — YET—
i wonder how many of them are veterans ?
But it seems some of the reverence that conservatives
have shown for veterans in the past is not there anymore.
After all, their draft dodging idol called veterans
losers and suckers. And just yesterday, he claimed
that the congressional medal of honor that he gave
to Miriam Adelson in 2018 because she was a wealthy
GOP “mega donor” who lined his pockets with millions
of dollars was much better than the medal of honor than those
loser military boys hand out to people who made “the ultimate
sacrifice” while defending our freedom.
Or even if they just got shot with bullets and require lifelong
medical care, he is on record to cut funding for the V.A.
What do you think about that, Woody?
Really, Ms. Dobel? Seriously, this turns the concept of illegality on its head based on what I’ve always believed, which is: If something is illegal, it is wrong. Breaking the law is always wrong. Something can be wrong, but not be illegal. But if something is illegal, it is automatically wrong in every sense. Morally, ethically, legally. Wrong. Period. Society has dictated it so. If an individual questions whether something should be illegal or not, it is not the right of the individual to do that thing just because they feel that their action isn’t ethically or morally wrong. And it is not the place of a lawyer or anyone else to defend the action of a lawbreaker because they believe the law in question is somehow flawed. If a particular law needs to be changed, then work to change the law. Why have laws at all if they can be ignored by those who consider them morally or ethically problematic?
Carol, give Ms. Dobel a break– she’s a lawyer– it has nothing
to do with right or wrong, legal or illegal. She’s just doing her job.
Ms. Arrowsmith if we define morality by man made laws we will always get it wrong. Morality stems from Gods law not from man. Man is always changing his mind. It is illegal to send bibles to China but I dont find it morally wrong. Prostitution is legal in many places but I think morally wrong. Yes we should render unto Caesar that which is Caesar but doing something legal but morally wrong is not following Gods law. Like Abortion for example. Society evolves and makes things illegal or illegal based upon the times. Not a good look.
what’s your point here. Are non-believers amoral ?
Mike– of course andy thinks non-believers are amoral.
It seems he is reluctant to answer that question, ao I am
answering for him. He often takes the liberty to state
what I think, so why not ? I doubt I am wrong.
After all, there are plenty of words in the bible that
let people know how to be “moral”. Such as
severely beating your slaves if they don’t perform to your standards.
Or this “supremacist” sounding rhetoric;
“2 Corinthians 6:14-18
King James Version
14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
It’s all right there –In his “sacred” book calling the non believers
“unrighteousness” “dark”
Belial and infidels.
No wonder he doesn’t want to answer your question.
andy– I am sure you are familiar with Luke 12:P 47-48
“The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows.
How about this one ? Exodus 21: 7
“If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as male servants do.”
or this one–
Exod. 35. [2] Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.
So you think it’s moral to beat your slaves, sell your daughter
into slavery — that would include the new owner’s right to have sex
with her of course–and murder people who work on Sunday.
Not a good look.
I’ll stick with man made morality thank you.
It was illegal for Rosa Parks to sit in the front of the bus.
I think it was probably illegal for Bostonians to throw tea into the harbor. I think it was illegal to shelter runaway slaves after the Fugitive Slave Act. And to shelter Jews during the Holocaust.
Geraldine– your reply to Carol nailed it.
Especially the line about sheltering Jews…
So a guy is evicted from the state forest and goes on to assault a family member to the point of being tased by a police officer? The math isn’t adding up here. Was this intended to help change the view of the displaced homeless or reiterate the view of homeless people being “dangerous” because it certainly did the latter
Samantha- there is a theory that violence is always preceded
by frustration — I don’t know–but i tend to agree with that
hypothesis. Clearly, there are dangerous and violent people out there regardless
of their levels of frustration. But, like a dog that has been beaten or a rat
that has been cornered, aggressive responses are to be expected.
But here is a rather long and boring history of our understanding of the link
between frustration and aggression —
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frustration%E2%80%93aggression_hypothesis
I hope you take a little time to read it, and contemplate it.
“Breaking the law is always wrong” is not a correct or helpful statement. Slavery comes to mind as does the holocaust and other grave injustices….In situations like this, when even the supreme court has criminalized humans for being homeless; attempting to live and survive in public spaces due to limited or unsafe options, it’s obvious something isn’t “right” or “just.” I find it refreshing that Doble attempted to invoke the consideration of humanity and humility. However, her argument would have been strengthened if she referenced the negative outcomes of trauma, which often occurs when folks become homeless. Homelessness can cause a vicious cycle of trauma/PTSD, mental health issues and sometimes substance abuse….The referenced correlation to the state forest clearing is not evidenced but is certainly part of the trauma of homelessness. They seized their “home” and trashed what few belongings they owned; many which were photos, ID’s, etc…This is supposed to be a CARING, island community; a small community which should be able to manage their population and provide needs when necessary…There must be reasonable, humane resolutions to respond to the increasing homeless population as the only alternative seems to be to “lock them up” and while it’s now a law, it is not just or humane. Moreover, it doesn’t solve the problem….For those with harsh judgments, pray you never find yourself in this dire situation…
Troubled and traumatized people are trapped in unmanageable lives and struggle to get ahead of the tsunami of problems that pursue them. The “un-housed,” “the homeless,” are reduced to being scary or threatening objects, not human beings.
I know George Baird. He is a very bright and troubled islander.
What does it say about the US — with unimaginable resources and “can-do” attitudes – that there are so many in George Baird’s situation? Especially after the 2008 mortgage crisis, and pointedly among tribal populations? Whatever happened to “there but for god’s grace go I”?
Abigail, exactly.
“Mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent.”
Roy, bumper stickers rarely illuminate the nuances of a situation. What if the innocent one is the one offering Mercy?
The points addressing my post are completely valid, and I stand deservedly chastised for not considering that sometimes laws need to be broken in order to draw attention to the need to change them. I apologize. Clearly the moral and ethical solution needed here is to find a legal way to safely house these folks.
Carol– thank you for apologizing — It’s rare to see anyone use that
word here.
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