Class Action Says Homeless Sweeps in Denver Violate U.S. Constitution

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A group of homeless persons say homeless sweeps conducted by the City of Denver have resulted in flagrant violations of their constitutional rights.

The plaintiffs are nine homeless persons who say they have been victimized by a systematic effort by various agencies of the City of Denver to displace homeless persons from the downtown Denver area, in order to make the area more suitable for new housing and economic development.

Their homeless sweeps class action lawsuit names as defendants the city itself, Mayor Michael B. Hancock, Police Chief Robert C. White and several other city officials.

The plaintiffs take issue with a Denver ordinance known as the Unauthorized Camping Ban, enacted in May 2012.

This ordinance places restrictions on the use of “any tent, tarpaulin, lean-to, sleeping bag, bedroll, blankets, or any form of cover or protection from the elements other than clothing.”

Plaintiffs say this ordinance has led to “open season” on anyone in downtown Denver who appears to be poor and attempting to protect themselves from the elements. They claim that since the enactment of this ordinance, Denver police have systematically chased out of downtown Denver any person who might appear poor or displaced.

In response to these homeless sweeps, plaintiffs say they and other Class Members moved away from the enforcement areas and gravitated toward the areas around the city’s homeless shelters, where they often had to continue sleeping outside due to a lack of space inside the shelters.

City officials then began to systematically “detain, cite and arrest” the plaintiffs near the homeless shelters, seizing and destroying what personal property they had, according to this homeless sweeps class action lawsuits.

Plaintiffs claim they were ordered to stand by and watch as employees of the Department of Public Works and inmates from the county jail throw their few belongings into DPW dump trucks.

The plaintiffs describe one of the homeless sweeps that allegedly took place in December 2015, in weather they say was snowy and below 10 degrees. They claim Denver police ordered them to evacuate the area around Samaritan House and specifically ordered them to leave their belongings behind.

Officials have cited the Unauthorized Camping Ban and other ordinances prohibiting “Minor Encumberances” as justification for these alleged homeless sweeps, the plaintiffs say.

Plaintiffs argue these alleged homeless sweeps have resulted in systematic violations of the constitutional rights of the plaintiffs and all other proposed Class Members.

They say the intentional taking and destruction of their property violates the Fourth Amendment’s ban on unreasonable searches and seizures and the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of due process.

They also claim violations of the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment and the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection.

The nine plaintiffs seek to represent a Class consisting of all persons whose personal property has been or will be taken and destroyed in the course of the described “Homeless Sweeps.” They estimate Class Members number in the thousands, citing statistics that say about 5,500 of Denver’s 700,000 residents are homeless.

They seek a declaratory judgment stating that the policies, practices and conduct described violate the plaintiffs’ rights under the U.S. Constitution and an injunction prohibiting the defendants from continuing those actions. They also seek an award of damages including punitive and exemplary damages, plus attorney’s fees and court costs.

The plaintiffs are represented by attorney Jason Flores-Williams.

The Denver Homeless Sweeps Class Action Lawsuit is Raymond Lyall, et al. v. City of Denver, et al., Case No. 16-2155, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.

UPDATE: On April 27, 2017, a Colorado federal judge granted Class certification to a class action lawsuit challenging Denver’s practice of displacing homeless persons from the city’s downtown area.