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'Get your trash': DOJ report slams Phoenix for how officers clear homeless encampments

The DOJ report accuses the city of relying on police officers as its "primary response" for addressing the homelessness crisis.

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Police Department has been violating the rights of the city's homeless populations by detaining individuals without reasonable suspicion and issuing "unlawful" citations, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. 

The 126-page report released Thursday by the federal agency criticizes how the city's police officers have treated the thousands of people living without a permanent residence in Phoenix.

VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: Informe del Departamento de Justicia critica a Phoenix por cómo los oficiales limpian los campamentos de personas sin hogar

"(Phoenix's) approach to policing homeless people violates the Constitution," the report states. "We found that PhxPD often stops unhoused people for investigative purposes without reasonable suspicion."

Less than 1 percent of the city's population is homeless. Yet the DOJ report emphasized how 37 percent of the city's misdemeanor arrests and citations involved the homeless population, based on an analysis of police data from 2016 to 2022.

One man experiencing homelessness had contact with Phoenix police at least 97 times between 2016 and 2022, the report states.

RELATED: Judge: Phoenix must clear tents located on public property in 'The Zone'

In recent years, city officials have allocated millions of dollars and added hundreds of shelter beds to help people living on Phoenix's streets. However, the DOJ believes the city has chosen its police officers as the primary response to address the homelessness crisis.

"Banishing homeless people from public spaces by unlawful means, destroying their property, and cycling them through the criminal justice system does not solve the problem or address its root causes," the report states.

These particular findings don't sit right with Interim Police Chief Michael Sullivan.

"Hearing that, I was surprised," Chief Sullivan said in an interview Thursday after the report was released.

Much of the DOJ's investigation focused on data and incidents before Sullivan helmed the department. Sullivan came to Phoenix in 2022 after former Police Chief Jeri Williams retired. 

"We’ve had people reach out to us as a city to see how we’ve really dug into this challenge of homelessness," Sullivan said. "Working with our city partners, with the Office of Homeless Solutions, opening a court to make sure we give people the help they need."

Phoenix's homeless population has roughly tripled in the past decade, according to annual Maricopa County data.  Crime has also gone up in recent years, particularly in "The Zone," the downtown neighborhood that used to be the city's largest homeless encampment.

In 2023, the 12News I-Team sat down with Commander Brian Freudenthal after the department laid out a new plan to reduce crime.  He oversees "The Zone" area.

"I don't think police are the answer, but I do think we can help," he said in that interview.

We talked about the challenges his officers face while responding to calls at encampments including drug use, people who need mental health care, people targeting and abusing those experiencing homelessness and how it can’t just be police taking on the problems.

"I’ve been working in the area around the campus my entire career," he said. "We have never had the cooperation we have right now with the Office of Homeless Solutions, Community Bridges, community partners, the Human Services Campus (now called Keys to Change). We’re doing everything we can to offer these individuals shelter, to get them off the streets."

Last year, the city was ordered by a Maricopa County Superior Court judge to clear out "The Zone." It's an order stemming from a lawsuit by property owners, arguing that the city wasn’t doing enough to keep the neighborhood clean and safe.  The City of Phoenix is appealing the judge's ruling.

Meanwhile, in federal court, the city has been fighting another lawsuit alleging encampment clean-ups could violate the rights of people experiencing homelessness. The ACLU of Arizona is involved in the case.

Jared Keenan, Legal Director for the ACLU of Arizona, called the findings in the DOJ's report "disturbing" but "not surprising," noting the report backed up a lot of arguments in the federal lawsuit.

The conflicting lawsuits have created confusion.  The issue of camping bans and how cities are allowed to respond to encampments is currently before the Supreme Court of the United States.

Amid the pressure, the city’s Office of Homeless Solutions has worked to create new policies for clearing encampments and saving and storing people’s belongings. Plus the city’s invested in more shelter space and reports shifting hundreds of people off the streets and into services within the past few years.

During its lengthy investigation, the DOJ spoke to several people experiencing homelessness and some reported feeling like they've been harassed by the police department. 

“I feel like I am a target. We are so afraid," one woman told the DOJ.

One man said officers threw out his belongings while saying, "This is trash."

One incident reviewed by the DOJ involved a man who was detained after he was found wrapped in a blanket near a canal. He was cited for trespassing and told to clear the area.

“Just go in there and get your belongings. Get your trash," the officer allegedly told the man.

The DOJ gave a broad overview of what they looked at for their investigation, including body camera footage, police reports and interviews, which the public has not seen.

In reaction to the DOJ report, city officials noted that they have already demonstrated a commitment to improving policing and accountability.  In a response letter to the DOJ, a city attorney wrote that "The City of Phoenix and Phoenix Police Department of today are materially different than the Department that you investigated."

12News reached out to Phoenix's police department and the city's Office of Homeless Solutions for a response to the DOJ's claims of constitutional violations of people experiencing homelessness.  Both said they were taking time to review the DOJ's findings.

RELATED: Phoenix council approves camping ban near parks, schools

RELATED: Arizona lawmakers don't agree on how to solve the state's homeless crisis

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