Cynthia Hubert -
Feb. 14, 2010 "Sacramento California City police violated the constitutional rights of homeless people by repeatedly rousting them from a rogue campground last summer, a lawsuit filed Monday in Sacramento Superior Court charges.
The suit, filed on behalf of 23 homeless men and women by civil rights lawyer Mark Merin, asks that the city stop enforcing its "cruel and inhumane" anti-camping ordinance, and seeks unspecified monetary damages. It names the city of Sacramento and the Sacramento Police Department as defendants.
Among the plaintiffs is Michael James Muzyka, 46, who recently died in part because of his longtime exposure to the elements, Merin said. Other plaintiffs are in temporary winter housing or sleep along the rivers, on sidewalks or on the streets, he said."
At least 1,200 men, women and children sleep outdoors in Sacramento on any given night because of a shortage of shelter beds, the suit estimates. Because the city prohibits camping for more than 24 hours at a time in undesignated areas, they are forced to move from place to place to avoid arrest, the suit says.
Last summer about 30 people set up a makeshift campsite at a lot Merin owns near 12th and C streets. For about three weeks, police raided the encampment, seizing tents, sleeping bags and other property, and detaining and citing homeless people."
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http://www.sacbee.com/2010/02/09/2522973/advocate-for-sacramento-homeless.html
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