Jogger dismantles Lake Merritt homeless man's encampment, throws some of it into lake

(Warning: explicit language in the videos in this post)

OAKLAND, Calif. — A jogger dramatically dismantled a homeless person's Lake Merritt encampment Friday evening, according to a video filmed by Oakland resident JJ Harris and posted to the Facebook group Lake Neighbors.

Harris, who filmed the incident, said that he was enjoying some downtime before going to watch the Warriors game when he saw the jogger throwing the belongings of Drewj, who lives near Lake Merritt, into the lake.

"I was definitely distraught. I was sad about the whole situation and angry," Harris said.

The jogger is shown gathering up the homeless person's belongings and taking them to a trashcan near the lake amid pleas of onlookers for him to stop. "Sir, I think you should stop," said one of the onlookers.

"You just threw it in the lake," said another onlooker.

"No, that was an accident," the jogger said between breaths.

"No, it wasn't. I saw you drag and throw it in," the onlooker doubled-down.

A video shows a jogger dismantling a homeless man's encampment at Lake Merritt and some of the witnesses say he threw some of the items into the lake. A video shows a jogger dismantling a homeless man's encampment at Lake Merritt and some of the witnesses say he threw some of the items into the lake. Photo: Screenshot Via JJ Harris Photo: Screenshot Via JJ Harris Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close Jogger dismantles Lake Merritt homeless man's encampment, throws some of it into lake 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

Onlookers tried to reason with the jogger, saying that Drew had been living in that spot for a long time. But the jogger kept gathering his things to throw them in the trash.

"He ignored everyone and then put his headphones back on and ran off to the north part of the park," said Kristin Gallup, an Oakland resident who said she came at the tail end of the incident. Gallup filmed the aftermath and posted it to the Lake Neighbors group.

"There was a very angry, of course, white guy who was just here," she said in the video. "And he just f**** demolished this homeless guys camp." Later, Gallup said that the man who lived there always kept his space "tidy" and out of the path of foot traffic.

"I think it's morally reprehensible and straight-up cruel what this guy is doing," she told SFGate. "This whole incident is a pretty succinct manifestation of so many of Oakland's current issues—racism, gentrification, white privilege, male privilege, hatred towards poor and homeless people, lack of resources due to funds not being allocated properly, lack of consequences for unjustifiably bullying of homeless people, and sheer apathy towards their predicaments."

The video that Harris posted caused a fierce debate on the Lake Neighbors Facebook group page, with some members siding with the jogger. "If I see him I will thank him for helping clean up the trash these homeless are leaving behind," one man wrote in a comment on the video.

"I donate to the poor and my family participates in feeding the homeless at soup kitchens but there is no reason that the homeless encampments in our public parks and certainly not in the pillared structures on the Lake. Good for him."

Some members of the Lake Neighbors group who had seen the video said that they went to bring things to Drew last night after the incident occurred, but that he wasn't there.

This is the second time in as many months that someone has been filmed attempting to "police" Lake Merritt. In May, a woman named Jennifer Schulte called the police on two black men, Kenzie Smith and Onsayo Abram, who were grilling at Lake Merritt, claiming that they were violating the law by cooking with charcoal at the lake.

The incident went viral, inspiring the hashtag #BBQBecky, countless memes and an SNL sketch mocking Schulte who called the cops. Oakland residents were outraged, for the most part, about the incident and organized a gigantic cookout by the lake called BBQing While Black, which got national press attention.

In the instance of the jogger dismantling the homeless encampment, members of the Lake Neighbors group suggested calling the police on him for theft, destruction of property and littering in the lake.

Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf was asked on KCBS how the jogger, who is being dubbed #JoggerJoe, could help with homelessness. She said that he could volunteer with or donate to community organizations that work with homeless people.

In the day since the incident, Oakland residents have come together to replace some of the items that Drew lost. A video posted by Smith, one of the men involved in the grilling incident from May, shows Drew with groceries, shoes, clothes, a new blanket and a new pillow.

"Since I posted the video, it's gotten a really positive response from the community," Harris said. "You know, the community is really stepping up to help this guy out....It's kind of reviving my hope in the goodness of the people in my community."