Activists protesting homeless crackdown arrested at Santa Rosa council meeting

Activists protesting Santa Rosa's crackdown on homeless encampments disrupted the City Council meeting Tuesday, staging a demonstration that police officers broke up by arresting a half dozen people and removing them from the council chambers.

The drama unfolded after a number of regular critics of the council's homeless policies were joined by an influx of participants from the May Day march that had started in Roseland.

One protester, Merlin Davis, crossed a barrier in the council chambers to hand out information to the council.

Mayor Chris Coursey told him to stop but Davis ignored him. Coursey adjourned the meeting and the council filed out as protesters holding green signs with pictures of tents on them occupied the chamber floor.

The demonstration escalated over the next 30 minutes, with more police officers taking positions near the protesters. Officers ordered the chamber cleared and when people and when protesters refused and locked arms leave they were arrested as protesters in the chambers screamed objections.

Arrested during the protest were Jacob Beckman, 43, of Petaluma; Courtney Cox, 23, of Santa Rosa; Merlin Joseph Davis, 38, of Santa Rosa; Adrian Shrader, 23, of Rohnert Park; Anita Lafollette, 71, of Santa Rosa; and June Ellen Brashares, 53, of Sebastopol.

They were charged with willfully disturbing a public meeting, a misdemeanor.

Davis and Cox were also charged with resisting arrest.

The meeting resumed about an hour after it had been adjourned.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to add details of those arrested.

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin McCallum at 707-521-5207 or kevin.mccallum@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @srcitybeat.