Downtown discord Homeless advocates complain about Park Block police patrols

http://special.registerguard.com/web/updates/28220970-41/police-downtown-park-blocks-trials.html.csp

The conspiracy theory goes something like this: As Eugene readies to begin hosting the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials on June 22, the city’s police department is bent on driving homeless people out of downtown, particularly in the highly visible Park Blocks area at Eighth Avenue and Oak Street.

“They’re going to pull an Atlanta on us,” a young man uttered Tuesday afternoon while congregating with six other people near the southeast corner of the East Park Block. His comment referred to the Atlanta Police Department’s highly publicized move to arrest thousands of homeless people in advance of the 1996 Summer Olympics.