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Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close Image 2 of 7 Erma Jean Grant, 71, is arrested by San Antonio police Thursday afternoon in front of the Starbucks on East Houston Street. Erma Jean Grant, 71, is arrested by San Antonio police Thursday afternoon in front of the Starbucks on East Houston Street. Image 3 of 7 Erma Jean Grant, 71, is arrested by San Antonio police Thursday afternoon in front of the Starbucks on East Houston Street. Erma Jean Grant, 71, is arrested by San Antonio police Thursday afternoon in front of the Starbucks on East Houston Street. Image 4 of 7 Erma Jean Grant, 71, is arrested by San Antonio police Thursday afternoon in front of the Starbucks on East Houston Street. Erma Jean Grant, 71, is arrested by San Antonio police Thursday afternoon in front of the Starbucks on East Houston Street. Image 5 of 7 Image 6 of 7 Erma Jean Grant, 71, is arrested by San Antonio police Thursday afternoon in front of the Starbucks on East Houston Street. Erma Jean Grant, 71, is arrested by San Antonio police Thursday afternoon in front of the Starbucks on East Houston Street. Image 7 of 7 Police arrest homeless woman taken in by Starbucks 1 / 7 Back to Gallery

Video by John Tedesco Bystanders upset when San Antonio police arrest homeless woman

San Antonio police arrested Mrs. G. yesterday.

Few people who live and work downtown know her full name. Some people call her “Ms. G.” Or, “Ms. Erma.”

Her actual name is Erma Jean Grant, 71. She’s a petite woman who’s been camping on Houston Street near the Starbucks at St. Mary’s Street for the past couple years.

After the city of San Antonio removed park benches on Houston Street in a controversial attempt to discourage loitering, San Antonio police arrested Grant Thursday afternoon, which attracted a small crowd of onlookers who thought it was unnecessary and heavy handed.

“All she does is stay out here,” said Catherine Moore, a waitress who works nearby and who told police that Grant could stay at her place. “She’s not doing anything wrong. This is unbelievable.”

It’s just one of thousands of citations issued by San Antonio police this year against homeless people. But this particular arrest struck a nerve and left some people wondering whether the city is going too far in keeping downtown safe and attractive.

Teresa Guerra, a bystander who also works downtown, asked why the arrest of an elderly homeless woman was necessary when younger, more aggressive male panhandlers pose a bigger problem. Some of her female coworkers don’t like wearing jewelry because it could make them a target.

“It’s really frustrating to see them take action on a little old lady,” Guerra said.

The arrest occurred just after the lunch hour. An SAPD paddy wagon parked on Houston Street, lights flashing. Bystanders asked San Antonio bike patrol officer Gregory Mendez why he was arresting the woman. Moore offered to give Grant a place to stay.

Mendez told the crowd that Grant would “be back in about four hours” and then led her to the SAPD van. According to his police report about the incident, Mendez was patrolling Houston Street near the Starbucks and saw Grant lying on the sidewalk with several large trash bags filled with clothing and other personal items.

“Due to the large amount of baggage, the area was not accessible to the heavy pedestrian traffic,” Mendez wrote. Grant “was occupying the sidewalk area as her living space and placing herself in a dangerous intersection of traffic.” Grant had been cited in the past for violating city ordinances, Mendez wrote, and he told Grant she was being arrested for camping in public.

As another officer prepared to load her into the paddy wagon, police found several wallets and socks under her jacket filled with money. Grant was carrying four social security checks and $758.03 in cash, according to the police report.

Sitting nearby at the Starbucks, Daniel Carvajal said Grant is a sweetheart and everyone gives her money and food. Bike patrol officers looked after her too, he said.

But her pile of bags had migrated to the fenced, outdoor seating area at Starbucks, where employees left her a chair every night after the city removed the benches. It got to be too much, he said.

“Everyone likes the lady,” he said. “But she just can’t live here. She moved in. She just can’t do it.”

The bench removal was the latest strategy that backfired for the city. At the order of Police Chief William McManus, and without consulting District 1 Councilman Diego Bernal, many of the benches on Houston Street were removed to discourage the homeless from sleeping on them. But that decision has been reversed and new benches — ones that have dividers to discourage sleeping — were placed on Houston Street starting this week.

McManus recently proposed — then withdrew — a controversial plan to make it illegal for San Antonio residents to give money or food to the homeless.

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