Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho announced Tuesday morning that his office has filed a civil suit against the city of Sacramento over its response to the region’s growing unhoused population. Ho said he filed the lawsuit around 9 a.m. “The community is broken. period,” Ho said at a news conference in which other Sacramento residents asserted the city’s inaction on their complaints. The lawsuit comes after months of back-and-forth between the city and county regarding liability regarding unhoused encampments. | VIDEO BELOW | Stephen Walton talks about the response to homelessness in Del Paso Heights He alleges that the city “enabled, created and enabled a public safety crisis regarding our homeless,” Ho said. Ho said Sacramento’s unhoused population has increased 250 percent over the past seven years, surpassing that of San Francisco. The prosecutor said the city should consistently enforce its ordinances regarding illegal camping, storage and sidewalk obstructions. | VIDEO BELOW | Full Press Conference: Sacramento County DA Announces Lawsuit Against City of Sacramento. “City Hall Allows Camping on City Hall Property at night, but they don’t allow it during the day. I ask the city to extend the same protection it extends to itself. the rest of us,” he said. He also called for safer, professionally managed land-based campsites. Earlier this year, on July 26, Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg and Ho met to discuss a city-county partnership to address homelessness issues. | VIDEO BELOW | Sacramento resident Emily describes living in an encampment outside her home She. Ho responded to the city a month later with a letter containing data from her office’s investigation into Sacramento’s homeless response, which included a 30-day notice for the city to comply with the requirements of the DA. | PREVIOUS COVERAGE | Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg responds to the DA’s threat to sue the city over its response to the homeless. DA demands include requiring the DA’s office city to pursue codes and ordinances outside of his office’s jurisdiction, providing four additional city attorneys, creating more temporary emergency shelters and camping spaces, providing access to timely data real deal regarding shelter beds and a citywide ban on day camping, among other things. Steinberg had responded to that letter saying she “deflects responsibility, takes credit for programs initiated by the city, lacks basic understanding of existing shelter management systems and funding structures.” , and includes a series of demands that would financially cripple the city. »| MORE | Sacramento City Attorney responds to DA’s letter demanding action on homelessness. Ho said Tuesday that his office would “require text messages, emails and production of documents.” He said they plan to call 400 to 500 witnesses “who will speak to the city’s actions and inactions.” The goal is to “ensure the city executes its mandate,” he said. City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood released the following statement. in response to the lawsuit: “The city has attempted to work with the district attorney several times in recent months, asserting that collaboration is the best path forward. However, it unfortunately appears that the prosecutor would rather point fingers and shift blame than partner to achieve meaningful solutions for our community. The City looks forward to responding to the prosecutor’s claims in court. Steinberg later said the trial was a “performative distraction” on the part of the prosecutor. Here is Steinberg’s full statement: “No local government in the Sacramento region has done more to address the crisis on our streets: 1,200 new emergency beds, ordinances to protect sidewalks, schools and more sensitive sites; a legally binding partnership with the county; thousands of new affordable homes – just to name a few. The frustration felt by members of our community is absolutely justified. The Council has endorsed and pushed for strict enforcement of our codes and the law. But the DA’s lawsuit won’t clear a single sidewalk or get a single person off the street. We work day and night to enforce our laws and provide relief to our community while avoiding the futile trap of endlessly moving people from one neighborhood to another. Frankly, we don’t have time for the District Attorney’s performative distraction from the hard work we all need to do together to solve this complex social problem plaguing urban centers across the state and country. The city needs true partnership from area leaders, not politics and lawsuits. Let’s just get the job done. » The Sacramento Homeless Union said in a statement Tuesday that it will file a motion and complaint for intervention in Superior Court. The homeless union said the prosecutor’s lawsuit targets unhoused residents “who are in the crosshairs.” “Both the city and the DA are complicit in the continued persecution of unhoused people and we will continue to mobilize on both sides to protect the interests of our members,” the statement read in part.
Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho announced Tuesday morning that his office has filed a civil suit against the city of Sacramento over its response to the region’s growing unhoused population.
Ho said he filed the complaint around 9 a.m.
“The community is at a breaking point,” Ho said at a news conference where other Sacramento residents asserted the city’s inaction on their complaints.
The lawsuit comes after months of back-and-forth between the city and county over responsibility for unhoused encampments.
| VIDEO BELOW | Stephen Walton talks about the response to homelessness in Del Paso Heights
It alleges the city “has enabled, created and enabled a public safety crisis regarding our unhoused people,” Ho said.
Ho said the unhoused population in Sacramento has increased 250% over the past seven years, surpassing that of San Francisco.
The prosecutor said the city should consistently enforce its ordinances regarding illegal camping, hoarding and sidewalk obstructions.
| VIDEO BELOW | Full Press Conference: Sacramento County DA Announces Lawsuit Against City of Sacramento
“The town hall allows camping on town hall property at night, but it does not allow it during the day. I ask the town to extend to all of us the same protection it gives itself,” a- he declared.
He also called for the creation of safer, professionally managed land-based camping spots.
Earlier this year, on July 26, Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg and Ho met to discuss a partnership between the city and county to address homelessness issues.
| VIDEO BELOW | Sacramento resident Emily describes living in an encampment outside her home
Ho responded to the city a month later with a letter containing data from his office’s investigation into Sacramento’s homeless response, which included a 30-day notice for the city to comply with the DA’s requirements .
| PREVIOUS COVERAGE | Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg responds to DA’s threat to sue city over homeless response
The prosecutor’s demands include requiring the city attorney’s office to enforce codes and ordinances outside of his office’s jurisdiction, providing four additional city attorneys, creating more emergency shelters temporary and camping spaces, access to real-time data regarding shelter beds and a citywide ban on day camping. , among others.
Steinberg responded to the letter saying it “diverts responsibility, takes credit for city-initiated programs, lacks basic understanding of existing shelter management systems and funding structures, and includes a series of demands that would financially paralyze the city.”
| MORE | Sacramento City Attorney Responds to Prosecutor’s Letter Demanding Action on Homelessness
Ho said Tuesday that his office would “require text messages, emails and production of documents.” He said they plan to call 400 to 500 witnesses “who will speak to the city’s actions and inactions.”
The goal is to “ensure the city fulfills its mandate,” he said.
City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood released the following statement in response to the lawsuit:
“The City has repeatedly attempted to work with the District Attorney over the past several months, asserting that collaboration is the best path forward. However, it unfortunately appears that the prosecutor prefers to point fingers and shift blame rather than partner to achieve meaningful solutions for our community. The City looks forward to responding to the prosecutor’s claims in court.
Steinberg later said the trial was a “performative distraction” by the prosecutor.
Here is Steinberg’s full statement:
“No local government in the Sacramento region has done more to address the crisis on our streets: 1,200 new emergency beds, ordinances to protect sidewalks, schools and other sensitive sites; a legally binding partnership with the county; thousands of new affordable housing units. just to name a few.
The frustration felt by members of our community is completely justified. The Council has endorsed and pushed for strict enforcement of our codes and the law. But the prosecutor’s lawsuit won’t clear a single sidewalk or get a single person off the street.
We work day and night to enforce our laws and provide relief to our community while avoiding the futile trap of endlessly moving people from one neighborhood to another.
Frankly, we don’t have time to let the District Attorney distract from the hard work we all need to do together to solve this complex social problem plaguing urban centers across the state and country.
The city needs true partnership from area leaders, not politics and lawsuits.
Let’s just get the job done. »
The Sacramento Homeless Union said in a statement Tuesday that it will file a motion and complaint for intervention in Superior Court.
The homeless union said the prosecutor’s lawsuit targets unhoused residents “who are in the crosshairs of both sides.”
“The City and the DA are complicit in the continued persecution of unhoused people and we will continue to engage on both sides to protect the interests of our members,” the statement read in part.
