In a blistering report made public in June, the U.S. Department of Justice calls the policing of those without anywhere to go a central pillar of the Phoenix Police Department’s enforcement strategy.
The DOJ cites an encounter with a man and woman sitting in an alley in May last year as an example of Phoenix police detaining homeless people illegally.
Body camera footage released by the city shows the people give their names and agree to be searched.
Police learn that the man has a warrant, and they find a baggie with what officers think is crystal meth. The man was also cited for sitting in a public right-of-way.
Before driving off, an officer offers the woman social services with some advice.
“Try not to be hanging out in alleys. Otherwise you’re going to be seeing PD quite a bit.”
The DOJ says Phoenix is the first city where investigators have found abuses of the civil and constitutional rights of people who live on the streets.
Court action during and since the years-long review set standards for what the city can and can’t do about homelessness.
Phoenix says litigation and investment have led to improved services for those with no place to go. The city has added an office called Homeless Solutions, which officials say has improved outreach, added indoor shelter beds and created a property storage program.
Still, according to the Justice Department, Phoenix has long relied on its police to deal with homelessness, and this has led to a pattern of constitutional violations.
Between 2016 and 2022, the DOJ says 37% of all misdemeanor arrests and citations were of unhoused people.
“I don't think that any of us should feel comfortable with one of the most at-risk populations in our city being terrified of the police,” said Benjamin Rundall, an attorney who leads a team of lawyers in a 2022 federal lawsuit against Phoenix that the DOJ cites twice in their report. “Really the Fund for Empowerment case, it's about fairness, and it's about protecting the constitutional rights of everybody.”
The suit led to a judge quickly ordering the city not to seize homeless people’s possessions without notice, and property that looks abandoned must be stored for 30 days before being destroyed.
Rundall said before court intervention, people typically got about 10 minutes to move their stuff.
“We're talking IDs were destroyed. Medications were destroyed. Pictures were destroyed. And in some even tragic cases, the ashes of loved ones were destroyed,” said Rundall.
This took place in an infamous part of downtown called "The Zone," which held a homeless encampment built around a social services campus.
A separate lawsuit filed in state court by area business owners led to a judge declaring the Zone a public nuisance and ordering the city to clean it up.
Today outside the Keys to Change campus in the heart of the Zone, tents that at one time were home to hundreds have been removed.
The DOJ credits the city for working quickly to relocate people.
Phoenix has also set up a community court where unhoused people accused of minor crimes can get social services, complete a personalized plan and avoid criminal court.
But the DOJ says Phoenix continues to illegally throw away their belongings.
“I would definitely dispute that. Since the Office of Homeless Solutions came into existence, that's been one of our number one goals,” said Rachel Milne, director of the office, which was created in 2022.
Milne’s team has built a process for handling the possessions of homeless people. If city officials find unattended property, they leave a 48-hour notice.
“And that notice says, ‘Hey, we were here. You weren't, but we'd like to get in touch with you. If you're not here, when we come back, just an FYI, we will be storing your property,’” said Milne.
So far, about one in 10 people have wanted their items back.
“We don't have people come to get their property. We bring it to them. And so that's another level of engagement where we can say, ‘Hey, here's your property. Let's talk about what your needs are,’” said Milne.
One area of agreement between city officials and the DOJ is that there are a lot more homeless people in Phoenix now than there were a few years ago.
After the DOJ released their report, the U.S. Supreme Court green-lit cities to enforce public camping bans.
A Phoenix ordinance that expands areas where homeless people are not allowed to sleep took effect this month.
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KJZZ's "Policing the Police" series examines the U.S. Department of Justice civil rights investigation of Phoenix by section, as well as the city's efforts to self-impose reforms. -
Our "Policing the Police" series examines the U.S. Department of Justice civil rights investigation of Phoenix by section, as well as the city's efforts to self-impose reforms. This time, KJZZ News focuses on the finding that Phoenix police don't change their approach when dealing with children. -
KJZZ's "Policing the Police" series examines the U.S. Department of Justice civil rights investigation of Phoenix by section, as well as the city's efforts to self-impose reforms. This report focuses on the finding by the DOJ that Phoenix police unlawfully restrict free speech. -
Our "Policing the Police" series examines the U.S. Department of Justice civil rights investigation of Phoenix as well as the city's efforts to self-impose reforms. This time, KJZZ News examines the finding that the city of Phoenix and its police discriminate against people with mental illnesses. -
KJZZ's "Policing the Police" series examines the U.S. Department of Justice civil rights investigation of Phoenix by section, as well as the city's efforts to self-impose reforms. This report focuses on the DOJ finding that police discriminated against Black, Hispanic and Native American people when enforcing the law. -
KJZZ's "Policing the Police" series examines the U.S. Department of Justice civil rights investigation of Phoenix by section, as well as the city's efforts to self-impose reforms. KJZZ News has divided the findings on use of force into deadly and less lethal. This report focuses on the latter. -
Our "Policing the Police" series examines the U.S. Department of Justice civil rights investigation of Phoenix by section, as well as the city's efforts to self-impose reforms. KJZZ News has divided the findings on use of force into deadly and less lethal. This report focuses on fatal police shootings.
