HOMELESS SUE ST. LOUIS POLICE FOR SWEEPING THEM FROM DOWNTOWN
ST. LOUIS--Sept. 17, 2004: More than a dozen homeless persons, many of them veterans, filed a lawsuit in federal court on Friday, September 17, complaining that the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department has a policy of attempting to drive the homeless from downtown St. Louis and telling them downtown is "off limits" to them.
The suit alleges that St. Louis police officers have routinely arrested the homeless without any suspicion they have committed crimes, have thrown fireworks at them to get them to move from a public park, have taken the homeless to remote areas and dumped them, have taken their food, medication, driver's licenses and insurance cards, have made them engage in forced labor prior to ever seeing a judge, and have generally attempted to remove the homeless from downtown, particularly before major events.
The suit alleges that the police have violated the constitutional rights of the homeless and those who are viewed as homeless. The homeless plaintiffs are represented by ten lawyers who work at the four major nonprofit public interest law offices in St. Louis: Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Civil Justice Clinic at Washington University School of Law and the Legal Clinic at Saint Louis University School of Law.
The suit alleges that over the 4th of July weekend, dozens of homeless persons were arrested in an apparent attempt to remove them from downtown during Fair St. Louis. As part of the sweep of the homeless during the holiday weekend, many homeless persons reported that police officers threw firecrackers at them as they sat in Lucas Park, a frequent resting place for the homeless downtown. Many of those arrested were held overnight at the Justice Center and were made to sleep on the floor because of overcrowding. Many of those arrested were never charged with any crime, and released the next day. Some of the homeless were arrested more than once over the 4th of July weekend, and never charged with a crime.
In another 4th of July weekend incident, several homeless persons were arrested during the Fair, and taken to a park and forced to clean it. These persons had not seen a judge, had not had a trial, and had not been found guilty. The lawsuit, in an allegation rarely made in the modern legal climate, alleges that the police engaged in involuntary servitude, or slavery, in this incident.
Some of those arrested during Fair St. Louis were charged with drinking in public, while hundreds of thousands of people drank alcohol at the Fair on the Arch grounds. Police frequently arrest the homeless for drinking in public, begging and street demonstration, while allowing the same behavior by others. Residents and visitors to downtown routinely drink in public at Rams tailgate parties, Strassenfest, and Mardi Gras. St. Louis firefighters stand in intersections with their boots collecting money for charity, but the homeless get arrested for begging for money for coffee on a cold day. Recently, contestants for the American Idol TV show were allowed to camp out across from the Edward Jones Dome and sleep in public, while the homeless are chased out of public parks and aren't allowed to sleep outside overnight.
In one incident alleged in the suit, a homeless man who has a license to be a street performer was taken into custody by police, and literally dumped near the Mississippi River. Police threw his Medicaid Card and driver's license into a sewer. The man was not charged with any crime. In another incident, a police officer intentionally broke the eyeglasses of one of the homeless plaintiffs. St. Louis police officers have not been shy about their intent. Officers have told the homeless downtown is "off limits" to them, and others have used racial slurs and vulgarity to advise the homeless to leave downtown. The homeless must be in the downtown area to receive food and services provided there by various shelters and social service agencies.
In some situations, police have arrested people they believe to be homeless when they are not. One officer wrote homeless on a summons issued to one of the plaintiffs, even though the man is not homeless. Police have engaged in a policy of removing anyone who looks homeless from downtown.
Police actions are not just illegal, but shortsighted. Many plaintiffs complain that police have interfered with their ability to get to their jobs or to find jobs. Official government statistics show that half of the homeless are employed.
Attorneys for the homeless notified Police Chief Joseph Mokwa and Mayor Francis Slay in writing last October of numerous incidents of the homeless being forced out of downtown and the egregious conduct of specific officers. Mokwa and Slay refused to meet with the attorneys, although the City Counselor and representatives of the police department did meet with the lawyers for the homeless. The attorneys representing the homeless had hoped for some improvement in the situation downtown, but the police actions over the 4th of July weekend confirmed that the policy of depriving the homeless of their rights and dignity had not changed.
The plaintiffs are seeking an injunction to prevent the illegal sweeps and other activities of the police directed toward the homeless, as well as unspecified damages.