I used to live in St. Pete and still read the St Pete Times on-line regularly.

This actually happened some time back, not sure how long, months anyway (time runs together more all the time). The controversy about where the homeless of the city should sleep had been going on for a long time. There aren't enough shelters (and some don't like to sleep there anyway) and the police ran them out of anyplace else they tried to sleep. A number of folks had gathered in this spot and then some (church sponsered I think) organization donated those tents. The city had been trying to move them out of that spot for a while and then finally sent in the police to destroy the tents.

It caused quite a stir in St Pete. Lots of folks were appalled but lots of others saw no problem with it (according to the on-line comments). I don't remember any more large scale homelessness issues being reported in the paper since then but I don't read it everday.

Never saw anything re: the issue of cutting up someone else's property. My guess is that since they were on city property and the owners had been told to leave that anything they didn't take was forfeit, but that is just a guess.