Rick Dickson is regularly sleeping rough rather than visiting homeless shelters that he fears could expose him to a case of COVID-19 he might not survive.

“I’ve fought cancer, I get pneumonia twice a year. If I get (the coronavirus), I’m probably dead,” said the 49-year-old, who uses a walker to get around and is missing a large piece of his skull following surgery to remove a tumour.

Dickson said he understands the pandemic lockdown — even as it makes his life on the street that much tougher with the closure of meal programs and warm hangout spaces like the library or coffee shops.

But he doesn’t understand why police bothered to hand him an $880 ticket on April 3 for breaching a provincial order against gatherings of five or more people. The pandemic order is meant to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. (A ticket is $750 plus $130 victim fine surcharge.)

Dickson said he was sitting near the downtown Urban Core health centre that afternoon when he got the ticket. There were people nearby, but he didn’t consider himself part of the group.

“I can’t pay it anyway. They know that. I feel like they’re just harassing me,” he said. “He (the officer) said, ‘Well, I just have to do my job.’”

Ticketing homeless people should not be part of the pandemic policing job, according to a coalition of medical outreach groups and the Hamilton Community Legal Clinic.

The group of health-care workers and lawyers called on police Monday to stop ticketing homeless individuals who stay in the same shelters, proposing there is a legal argument that shared, close living quarters effectively make those individuals part of the same “household.”

Regardless, each ticket represents two months of income for a homeless person on welfare and will likely never be paid, said legal clinic lawyer Sharon Crowe. “I think everyone recognizes the futility of that action ... I’m hoping we can get police and bylaw on board.”

It’s not clear exactly how many pandemic tickets have been issued to homeless city residents — or even whether police continue to hand them out.

The Spectator reported tickets issued to a group of individuals drinking downtown in early April that prompted criticism. At the time, Chief Eric Girt said police officers were using “discretion” and had only ticketed “oppositional” individuals when all else failed.

Hamilton police said in an email Monday they have issued 34 tickets in total under the provincial Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act — but a spokesperson said they could not reveal who received individual tickets, or for what infraction. (The possibilities include gatherings of five or more, using banned amenities and opening non-essential businesses.)

“We’re focused on educating members of the public ... Our ability to enforce continues to be a last resort,”said Jackie Penman in a statement, adding police are holding a teleconference with homeless advocates Tuesday to discuss their concerns.

The city also has the power to separately ticket residents up to $500 for not respecting a two-metre “physical distancing” bylaw. But so far, “no one” has been fined under the bylaw, said Mayor Fred Eisenberger Monday.

In the meantime, the coalition is trying to track enforcement complaints online (info@keepingsix.org) and by surveying people in homeless encampments.

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“I’ll be happier if I hear a firm statement of support on this from police,” said Dr. Jill Wiwcharuk, a street outreach doctor who said she has two patients who have reported being ticketed by police in April.

“If you see a group of people on a street corner and that street corner is basically their living room, I’m hoping there is a way for police to use their discretion.”