Iorio: We're not jailing the homeless for Super Bowl

TAMPA -- Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio denied today that there has ever been a mandate for police to arrest homeless people and keep them in jail during Super Bowl week.

"I've talked to the chief about it and he assured me there is absolutely no targeting of the homeless. And, of course, it would be absolutely unacceptable," Iorio said. "We are not doing that."

Yet that's why advocates for the homeless said they are not conducting a homeless census that began today in counties across the country, including Pinellas.

Last week, three prominent homeless advocates from Hillsborough and Pinellas counties said police were aggressively charging homeless people with petty crimes and jailing them to keep Tampa from looking bad to out-of-town guests. One advocate, Tampa Crossroads director and former state representative Sara Romeo, said she heard a police captain say this at a meeting without providing details.

Iorio said she would never condone rounding up homeless people to make the city look better to Super Bowl visitors or for any other reason.

"The city is what it is," she said.

And like many other big cities, Tampa has homeless people.

"Sadly it represents a failing of our society as a whole," she said.

Iorio said she spoke to Police Chief Steve Hogue, and they are looking into which police captain may have said this in the meeting with Romeo.

Iorio said she hasn't called Romeo to ask her.

-- Janet Zink and Emily Nipps, Times staff writers

Comments

[david]

Somehow, I don't think the homeless are what will end up making Tampa look bad during the Superbowl festivities. The homeless are ofter more well behaved, and certainly more friendly than the noveau riche folks in South Tampa.

[Sim]

I am sure on some level of Tampa government some fool came up with this idea and the media leak forced the back down. If this is true it is disgusting. I suppose the strip clubs make us look like an attractive destination, but the needy make us look bad??

[BC]

David...I am not Nouveau or Riche...just better than you.

[UNCONSTITUTIONAL]

You may not like stripclubs in Tampa, But a whole lot of other people do like them. that's why they are still in business, because they make money from customers. You just have to aviod all of the undercover operations that they run inside the clubs.

[Mr Lizard]

Well at least they're not rounding up my kind.