Two attorneys formally demanded town stop enforcement towards homeless residents at a Halfway District homeless camp this weekend, earlier than police resumed ticketing Monday. 

Attorneys Scott Dreher and Coleen Cusack on Saturday despatched Mayor Todd Gloria and different metropolis officers a letter informing them that they’re representing homeless San Diegans staying on the Halfway camp that has grown dramatically over the past yr. They warned town to not proceed with a plan to implement crimes tied to homelessness there this week, alleging that the anticipated crackdown would violate residents’ constitutional rights and intrude with the area’s Feb. 24 homeless census. 

The town nonetheless took enforcement motion Monday, citing 4 folks for crimes tied to homelessness and warning eight others.  

However Gloria has agreed to fulfill with the attorneys this week at their request and a spokesman stated the mayor had already directed police and metropolis staff to halt enforcement and homeless camp clean-up operations just a few days forward of subsequent week’s point-in-time depend, earlier than receiving the Saturday letter. 

The attorneys’ letter adopted a warning late final week that police would resume ticketing and arrests at a camp on Sports activities Enviornment Boulevard after weeks of halted enforcement amid a spike in COVID circumstances in city-funded homeless shelters led town to cease welcoming newcomers. Early final week, town reopened shelters, paving the way in which for enforcement to renew citywide since officers will need to have shelter beds to supply earlier than continuing. 

The 2 attorneys and different advocates have for weeks monitored clean-up operations and enforcement on the camp between Rosecrans Road and Pacific Freeway that at one level was residence to an estimated 183 folks and 94 tents. As of Monday morning, advocates estimated the inhabitants on the camp was down by roughly a 3rd following stepped-up metropolis cleansing efforts and the warning that officers could be cracking down this week. The town this month started twice-weekly clean-up efforts on the camp. 

Cusack and Dreher, who has filed lawsuits towards town which have resulted in a number of settlements that dictate how town conducts enforcement and clean-up operations at homeless camps, warned Gloria, Metropolis Legal professional Mara Elliott, Police Chief David Nisleit and Metropolis Councilwoman Jennifer Campbell that homelessness-related enforcement on the Halfway camp would put town in authorized jeopardy. 

“We consider these clearance and enforcement actions, and threats thereof, violate the constitutional rights of those homeless inhabitants of the Sports activities Enviornment Boulevard encampment, as a result of they’ve nowhere else to go or be,” Dreher and Cusack wrote. 

Of their letter, the 2 attorneys argued that continuing with enforcement would contradict the Martin v. Boise federal appeals court docket ruling requiring that cities have sufficient shelter for homeless residents earlier than citing them, a number of authorized settlements beforehand negotiated with Dreher and public well being steerage discouraging enforcement in the course of the pandemic. 

The attorneys additionally raised issues that the enforcement might hamper the area’s Feb. 24 homeless census by dispersing residents the week earlier than the depend. Advocates – and Gloria himself – raised related issues after the 2019 census when police dramatically elevated enforcement downtown within the days earlier than the depend.  

“Please stop all encampment clearances at the very least till the Feb. 24 (point-in-time) depend is full and forego any and all prison enforcement actions (citations, progressive enforcement, orders to evacuate, and many others.) towards the homeless for being homeless,” Dreher and Cusack wrote of their Saturday letter. “Then let’s sit down and discuss a few of these actions and options. That means we are able to keep away from litigation which can undoubtedly be resolved just like the Martin v. Boise case – costing town cash, time, and respect.” 

Gloria spokesman Dave Rolland wrote in an electronic mail that Gloria had already directed metropolis police and environmental service staff to cease imposing legal guidelines tied to homelessness and homeless camp clean-ups from Feb. 21 by way of Feb. 24 as a result of the mayor “needs an correct depend of individuals experiencing homelessness.” 

Rolland wrote that the mayor final yr directed police to not implement unlawful lodging and encroachment – legal guidelines related to tents and tarps in public areas – when no shelter beds can be found. However he stated the mayor stands by utilizing regulation enforcement when beds can be found. 

“When shelter is out there, the mayor believes town ought to do every little thing it might probably to assist folks to just accept it – as a result of along with preserving of us protected from the hazards of life on the road, shelter and the social companies that include it signify a pathway to everlasting housing,” Rolland wrote. 

Dreher and Gloria’s workplace confirmed that they’re now set to fulfill. 

“They’ve reached out to fulfill and I hope the conferences could be productive,” Dreher stated. 

Leslie Wolf Branscomb, a spokeswoman for Elliott, stated the Metropolis Legal professional’s Workplace was “working with its consumer” to handle the problems raised within the attorneys’ letter. 

By Monday afternoon, metropolis spokeswoman Ashley Bailey stated three folks staying on the camp acquired infraction tickets and one was given a misdemeanor quotation. Eight got verbal warnings for unlawful lodging or encroachment. Every motion is a part of town’s so-called progressive enforcement mannequin. A fourth interplay with an individual who doesn’t settle for a proposal of an open shelter mattress can result in an arrest. 

Bailey wrote in an electronic mail that one other 4 folks of the 17 folks police interacted with Monday morning had been pushed to metropolis shelters.  

She stated police are solely ticketing homeless residents after they refuse open shelter beds, and that enforcement stops every day when shelter beds are full. 

Bailey additionally famous that town oversaw a stepped-up outreach effort on the Halfway camp over the previous month, providing shelter to dozens of residents staying on the camp.  

“The town continues to emphasise a compassionate method; nevertheless, it’s going to stability that with the necessity to tackle the well being and questions of safety that persist in encampments,” Bailey wrote. 

Gloria’s workplace late final month tweeted that his staff was decided to proceed with a large-scale clean-up within the space after outreach staff discovered a number of folks had a abdomen sickness and reported that residents had been “residing in unsafe and unsanitary situations.” 

Halfway enterprise and property homeowners  had additionally raised issues for months. 

A handful of residents on the camp beforehand informed Voice of San Diego they wished to maneuver off the streets however had been involved metropolis shelters wouldn’t match their wants – or didn’t wish to depart behind pets or associates within the camp. 

Bryan “Cowboy” Rhoades, 51, stated he was involved a packed metropolis shelter wouldn’t be an excellent match for his beloved canine or that different residents would possibly steal his belongings. 

“I don’t wish to be housed with a bunch of individuals,” Rhoades stated. 

However Anthony Cooper, 51, and fiancée Elizabeth Shaw, 34, had been making ready to maneuver into an Alpha Undertaking shelter Monday after interacting with police. Officers helped load their belongings right into a pickup truck the place they might transfer some objects into storage. 

Cooper stated the couple had been on the Sports activities Enviornment camp for 3 months however had not been provided shelter. 

“We’ve been making an attempt to get assist, however no person’s helped us,” Cooper stated. 

Cusack on Monday seemed on because the couple collected their belongings and police gathered round tents. She handed out flyers explaining the implications of the Martin v. Boise case, public well being steerage and homeless residents’ constitutional rights. 

Cusack despatched a separate memo on Monday to San Diego police laying out the shelter choices that 30 homeless purchasers who’ve stayed on the Sports activities Enviornment camp would settle for. She additionally listed constitutional violations she alleges could be related to enforcement actions. 

“Please take discover that I’ve been retained by the next people to signify their authorized pursuits at the side of the threatened prison enforcement motion on the Sports activities Enviornment encampment whereby every resides out of necessity, having no authorized personal choice that’s safer,” Cusack wrote.