Arrest made in recent tent-slashing incident

By Morgan Rothborne, Ashland.news

When a man in a mental health crisis brandished a knife on the night lawn camping area behind the Ashland Police Station in the wee hours of Sunday morning, Dec. 3, guests took shelter in their tents and called the advocate they trusted for help. 

Debbie Niesewander arrived to find several tents had been slashed open but no one was injured. Hours later, the man was arrested for attempting to break into a hotel room at the Scottish Inn and, after a brief stay in jail, self-committed for a psychiatric hold, said Ashland Police Chief Tighe O’Meara.

The man had been a guest at the night lawn — as the lawn designated by the city of Ashland behind its police department and City Council chamber for public camping since May has come to be known — for a couple of weeks before the incident and “seemed like a nice guy,” at first, said Rick Bevel, a guest at the night lawn. 

Neiesewander has been an advocate for Ashland’s homeless population off and on for years. It’s difficult to sustain, she said, because “it’s depressing.” But — as an individual without an organization — she’s been working with night lawn guests for months. She’s concerned by the changes she’s noticed. 

Some have been unable to get access to or have stopped taking their medication. Consumption of alcohol and other substances is increasing, she said. Individuals are breaking into tents at night, theft and other security issues are becoming common. There is no host or direct supervision. 

“It’s becoming unstable. … I don’t tell people to come to the night lawn anymore, because it’s unsafe,” she said. 

The city of Ashland established the dusk to dawn or night lawn May 12, 2023, according to a release on the city’s website. The area was designated as the space for homeless people to sleep. Tents were allowed from 7:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. on the lawn behind council chambers and the police station at 1175 E Main St. All personal belongings must be packed up and removed from the area each day or it could be removed and stored by the city, the release said. 

Niesewander successfully petitioned the city in recent months for a change of evening hours corresponding with the 4:30 p.m. winter sunset. She is still seeking a change in morning hours to reflect when frost has left the ground. Officers have been lenient, she said, allowing guests to pack up and move as late as 9 a.m. 

Last Tuesday at 4 p.m., a daily procession of tent setups was beginning. When guests pack up their tents in the morning, they move them to a strip of public property abutting the street at 1175 E Main St. to wait for the hour when they can move back to the sleeping area. Recently they have been informed they can no longer leave their tents in this space during the day, Niesewander said. 

Using small wagons or dragging them, residents moved their belongings down the sloping driveway to the lawn. Guests who are able bodied help those who are disabled, like Bevel.

He sat in his wheelchair Tuesday evening, watching fellow guests set up his eight-person tent. He gestured at his leg, ending just below the ankle in a stump wrapped in black fabric with a green plastic around the outside. In 2007, he was run over by a train. After a failed surgery to repair the foot, doctors amputated. It is hard to care for in these conditions, he said. He is 67 years old. He is unable to sleep on the ground, he uses a tent large enough to accommodate his cot. 

Bevel described leaving home at 15 to escape physical abuse from his stepfather after his mother died, he said. His younger sister “died in my arms.” Before 2016, he assumed he was an alcoholic, an addict and no one would want to know him. But after moving to Ashland, he found something different. 

“I come here and I fell in love with them and they fell in love with me. I’ve felt more love here than I’ve ever felt in my life,” he said.

He said he has worked to develop relationships with Ashland police officers. He feels the rapport and care is genuine, except when he is being rushed to pack up his tent in the morning. 

“I told one of’em, ‘Cut your own foot off and come out here and do this as fast as I’m doing it or faster,’” he said. 

When asked what changes he would like to see on the night lawn, he was blunt. 

“Leave us the f*** alone. We don’t cause problems, if we cause problems we work them out with each other. … If I could just take it (his tent) somewhere where I don’t have to take it down,” he said.  

Joseph Wise came to Ashland about three months ago after losing everything in the Maui wildfire, he said. He had lived in Ashland before, remembered a nice community and returned. 

“We’re just people out here trying to rebuild from the terrible things that happened to us. … I have no criminal record, no evil intentions of world domination. But it would be nice to sleep in on a cold morning,” he said. 

He also described a frustration with the daily moving of the tents. Like Bevel, he is a disabled older adult. When asked what he wanted, he said “a place where we can be safe and free.” He has received $345 in tickets from police, he said, which he hopes to take to court. 

Security issues were not a problem at first, but something that has developed over time, Neisewander said. 

“It started out with kind of a core group. But then we’ve had people coming in from Medford and Grants Pass, stealing things, breaking into tents at night. Most of this happens at night when they’re asleep,” she said. 

She pointed to a row of lights along a fence behind the night lawn. The lights go out at a certain hour and the area becomes very dark. 

The night lawn has become where police send those they find camping around Ashland, Neiesewander said. Those who are asked to leave the shelter run by Opportunities for Housing, Resources and Assistance (OHRA) also come to the night lawn. Guests have begun to band together and expel those who steal or otherwise pose a threat, she said. 

O’Meara stated guests are generally adverse to calling the police and, as a result, police often learn about incidents after they occur. Guests also sometimes decline to be named victims, making filing reports difficult. Neisewander stated there have been times she has called police, guests have cooperated with interviews expecting police action and have not always seen police reports. 

Fires and cooking are prohibited by the city. In the colder months guests have begun to use gas powered heaters and stoves for warmth and cooking anyway, Niesewander said. The cold has also heightened the problem of rats. 

Bevel pointed to a row of hedges on the backside of the council chamber building. He said guests can hear the rats moving in there and have come to find them in their tents and their food. 

“The rats. They come out and they thick as thieves. They started out little guys but now they’re big,” he said. 

Two guests who declined to be identified outside their nicknames — Flip and Olive — walked between the tents Tuesday evening informing their friends they just learned they have six months of shelter through OHRA. 

They got shelter by staying on top of everything — managing applications, contact with organizations and other administrative work, Olive said. The pair use their phones for all of it.

On the lawn, guests do not have access to outlets. Flip said he spends two hours a day walking between East Main Street and a friend’s business downtown to drop off and pick up phones and chargers. Olive said while she has rheumatoid arthritis and Flip has epilepsy, unlike many other guests on the lawn they are healthy enough to walk the distance and stay organized. 

“I think there’s people here that would benefit from more stability. If they could have something like take steps a, b, c, and d. So there’s a little more hope for these people,” she said. 

During the knife incident Sunday, no one had a charged phone. One guest had a partially charged tablet, which Niesewander said was used to contact her. O’Meara stated there is a call box outside the police station which connects directly to dispatch. 

Wise held up a machete in its sheath as he packed up his tent and belongings Tuesday. 

“I just bought it for myself, because Christmas is coming and it’s fun. But when that guy was being a real b***hole, I was waiting in my tent with this, waiting for him to cross that line,” he said. 

Email Ashland.news reporter Morgan Rothborne at [email protected].