Nicholas Carrisoza was sleeping in Rhodes Skate Park a few weeks ago when he woke up to a flashlight in his face.
Using a sleeping bag and blanket he stores in a locker at a homeless shelter, he had gone to sleep in the park under the connector for the night. Carrisoza, who said he doesn’t use drugs or drink alcohol, said he sought out the park as a quiet place to lie down for the night away from other people who might be staying in Cooper Court, but he doesn’t seek out the park anymore. He woke up to officers from the Boise Police Department telling him to move along or possibly face a ticket or a more serious charge.
“They said ‘We could be jerks about it and write you a ticket or give you a misdemeanor, or you could go sleep in Cooper Court’,” Carrisoza said, sitting in a camping chair listening to music on his phone in the same alley known as a gathering spot for Boise’s homeless community. “So I came over here to sleep and did what they said.”…