SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, March 9, 2025 (Gephardt Daily) -- Brian Redd, Salt Lake City's new police chief, inspired a sense of hope among the city's homeless advocates last Tuesday night, and did so through the simplest of human gestures; he merely shook their hands.
It was his first official act as chief, happening just moments after being sworn into office before the Salt Lake City Council.
Redd had no sooner finished raising his right hand, when he extended it to Travis McBride, a longtime advocate for the unsheltered community. McBride was there to support other advocates in delivering a message to the then soon-to-be-chief and council members, imploring them to stop the criminalization of homelessness, and to put an end to what they believe is a politically motivated and increasingly aggressive police crackdown on SLC's unsheltered population.
"When he came straight toward me and extended his hand, I was surprised," McBride said. "It took me aback. Then he looked me in the eye and said things were going to change, that we all needed to get together, with him, and we would all get this taken care of."
Redd's seeming attentiveness didn't end with McBride. He stopped and shook the hands of all of the activists, listening to what they had to say, and offering words of encouragement.
"We want to enforce the law in a compassionate, empathetic way, establish a precedent," Redd said. "We need to all work together. It's complicated, right?"
For most, it was a new experience.
Kseniya Kniazeva, founder and director of the Nomad Alliance, which operates the mobile warming micro-shelter known as the "Blue Bus." Photo: Gephardt Daily/ Patrick Benedict
"I tried to meet with Mike Brown for four years," said Kseniya Kniazeva, founder and director of the Nomad Alliance, the grassroots relief group that operates the "Blue Bus," the mobile micro-shelter (conceived by Kniazeva), which offers the unhoused a warm place to sleep on freezing winter nights, especially when other facilities are full.
"When Chief Redd offered me his hand, during what was literally his first five minutes on the job, I was overwhelmed," Kniazeva said. "Then, without hesitation, he accepts my invitation to tour our bus, right then and there. And you know, it had to be a big night for him. I'm sure he wanted to go home and celebrate with his family but, instead, his family came with him, and they toured the bus together as it sat parked outside the City-County Building.
"I was already blown away, and then his daughter discreetly tells me she and her father had volunteered in shelters in the past, and that the homeless issue was one that was near and dear to their hearts.
"Imagine how that felt. I mean, I went from being ignored for years, and then we meet this guy, and then there he is standing on our bus."
Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd, and his family, visit the Nomad Alliance's 'Blue Bus' outside the City-County Building shortly after Redd's swearing in as SLC's new top cop, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. Photo: Nomad Alliance/Kseniya Kniazeva
One of the bus managers, John Mendez, a Long Island native, who is no stranger to homelessness, said he too was impressed, but then wondered aloud if Redd was too good to be true.
"He was pretty impressive," Mendez said, pausing for a moment to take a long, thoughtful drag from his Lucky Strike. "He seemed like he cared, and I've got to say, contrary to what you mostly hear around here, there are some kind cops. I've met my fair share of them. I just hope he turns out to be one of them, 'cause some of these bastards shouldn't have a badge.
"I mean, I was always taught to look up to cops. They're supposed to be the good guys, but now we're mostly scared of them."
The Nomad Alliance's "Blue Bus" offers assistance to Salt Lake City's unsheltered community outside the City-County Building just after midnight, March 4, 2025. Photo: Gephardt Daily/ Patrick Benedict
Tabitha Witherow has been on the streets for about four years. She spoke briefly before the city council, her voice low and raspy, but her message otherwise clear.
She, too, fears Salt Lake City police officers.
"We need to change the culture," she said, wrapped in a blanket outside the Nomad warming bus shortly after Redd's swearing-in ceremony.
"I told Chief Redd we've been really getting picked on this year. He seemed to listen to me. It felt good. It felt like what I said might possibly make some changes for the homeless people. If not, I guess I'll just keep talking," Witherow said.
"You know, sometimes when you're just trying to get warm, you're told to pack up. They tell you that they're sorry that they're doing it, but while you're packing yourself up, they're over by their patrol cars, laughing their asses off, and, you know, they don't give a f***. They don't care. They get to go home at the end of the night, or whenever their shift is over, and they go sleep with a nice, warm bed," Witherow said.
"I once knew what it was to sleep in a nice warm bed."
The Nomad Alliance's "Blue Bus" mobile micro-shelter opens its doors to members of Salt Lake City's homeless community, offering a hot meal and warm place to sleep, Friday, 2:44 a.m., March 7, 2025. Photo: Gephardt Daily/ Patrick Benedict
