PHOENIX — As ABC15 continues our coverage of the Department of Justice’s report rebuking the City of Phoenix, our team is re-examining the city’s cleanup methods of homeless people’s belongings.
“I think the troubling thing is it’s not just the Phoenix Police Department that’s a problem, it's actually the City of Phoenix as well,” said Jared Keenan, legal director for the ACLU of Arizona.
ABC15 has reported for yearson the city’s cleanups of people’s belongings.
“I’ve had everything I’ve owned thrown in the trash, including my ID, my teeth everything,” one man told ABC15 in 2022.
In a lawsuit filed by the ACLU, they allege the city threw away the ashes of a homeless person’s loved one.
The city told ABC15 they were changing policies around collecting and storing unattended belongings after that lawsuit.
“The [DOJ] report is clear that the changes aren't enough, they’re not quick enough hand problems still continue to happen,” Keenan said. “All these things make it less likely that the person is going to be able to get out of the situation they’re in and find housing.”
The DOJ accused Phoenix Police of targeting the homeless population. Their report finding 37% of misdemeanor arrests and citations were against the homeless in Phoenix.
The report found one officer on body camera citing a homeless person saying “I gotta get me tickets up this month” and another saying he needed to write a trespassing citation because it “puts me at 30.”
“The Phoenix Police’s attitude towards those they interact with across the entire report is really troubling,” Keenan said. “They clearly do not respect the community members with which they interact.”
A spokesperson for Phoenix's Office of Homeless Solutions told ABC15 “The city will take the necessary time to review the findings in detail before responding.”
