LAUSD sues insurers over alleged sex abuse coverage denial
Homelessness drops slightly this year in Los Angeles area
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SoCal officials respond to Supreme Court ruling on encampments By Joe Taglieri
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he city of San Bernardino and officials representing the Los Angeles area responded to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision Friday easing legal restrictions on removing homeless encampments. In the case Grants Pass v. Johnson, the Supreme Court considered whether cities could legally clear encampments and have police cite homeless individuals for sleeping in public places. A 6-3 majority found that laws prohibiting camping in public places were not considered cruel and unusual punishment. In December 2018, two homeless individuals filed a lawsuit in December 2018 on behalf of the homeless population of Grants Pass, Oregon, that challenged the city's anti-camping regulations. The city is currently under an injunction preventing local police from removing encampments or citing people who sleep outside in public space. “Today’s ruling by the Supreme Court will not solve the homelessness issue, however it does provide much needed clarity," according to a statement by city spokesman Jeff Kraus. "It confirms that cities like San Bernardino have the legal authority to maintain and clean public property and can make that public property available to all residents, not just those who are unhoused. "We hope this ruling will encourage more individuals to accept the services
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Metro directors approve plan to establish in-house police department By Jose Herrera, City News Service
joet@beaconmedianews.com
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A homeless encampment in Arcadia. | Photo by Terry Miller/HeySoCal.com
available to help them stabilize their lives and we look forward to returning San Bernardino parks to our families and children. "The ruling does not affect the current injunction the City of San Bernardino is under restricting its ability to address encampments," Kraus worte. "So, despite the ruling, the City remains prohibited from performing encampment cleanups. We continue to work to have the injunction lifted or end the case and expect to have a resolution very soon.” San Bernardino is subject to a preliminary injunction issued in January by Judge Terry Hatter in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the SoCal Trash Army and three individuals alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The plaintiffs also claim authorities illegal handled individuals' personal belongings during
an encampment cleanup. The Supreme Court's 6-3 rejection of the constitutional challenge held that penalizing unhoused people for sleeping outside when there is no available shelter does not violate the Eighth Amendment. Justices Sonya Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented. The ruling gave cities and counties broader legal powers to arrest, cite and fine people for sleeping outdoors in public areas and reversed legal protections for homeless residents in California and other states. A prior federal court decision in Martin v. Boise by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals "held that the Eighth Amendment’s Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause bars cities from enforcing public-camping ordinances like these See Encampments Page 24
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against homeless individuals whenever the number of homeless individuals in a jurisdiction exceeds the number of 'practically available' shelter beds," according to the Supreme Court ruling. "A handful of federal judges (can't) begin to 'match' the collective wisdom the American people possess in deciding 'how best to handle' a pressing social question like homelessness," Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in the majority opinion. "The Constitution’s Eighth Amendment serves many important functions, but it does not authorize federal judges to wrest those rights and responsibilities from the American people and in their place dictate this Nation’s homelessness policy." In the dissenting opinion, Sotomayor wrote, "Sleep is a biological necessity, not a crime. For some
proposal for Metro to create its own police department has been approved by a 10-0 vote of its Board of Directors following public safety concerns and months of highly publicized violent crimes on its system, and Friday there is five-year plan to put it in place. The Transit Community Public Safety Department will be rolled out over the course of five years. Metro's current contracts with its three law enforcement agencies — Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Los Angeles Police Department and Long Beach Police Department — will remain in place until then, according to Robert Gummer, the agency's interim deputy chief of system security and law enforcement. "So having greater control and accountability over law enforcement, centering on community safety and carebased strategies, and addressing the unique quality of life challenges on trains and buses — this is why I'm supporting us moving forward with a new model," Board Chair and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said prior to the vote, who joined the meeting remotely. "Again, a new model that will take years to implement." Bass said she has felt strongly that law enforcement agencies were essentially "dumped" with the social, health and economic problems that governmental agencies have not supported. She added that Metro has an opportunity to create a department that can respond aggressively in a traditional manner similar to that of law enforcement, but also not burden law enforcement with social service needs. The Board of Directors discussed four deployment models, outlining options to improve visibility of officers on bus and rail systems. Metro leaders chose to move forward with what was described as the "Enhanced Service Model." This model will build upon what the agency currently has — retaining 386 officers — but adding more ambassadors, crisis interventionists, clinicians and homeless outreach providers. The goal is for the in-house department to have 673 staff working in public safety, an increase of about 227 from the current figure. According to Metro officials, the plan is estimated to cost $192.6 million per year compared to the $194 million multiagency contract. The agency is expected to implement a "Zone-Based Deployment," creating five areas which will be overseen by the in-house public safety. "You will have the ability to impart the values and expectations on all levels of the organization," Gummer told City News Service. "We will also be able to ensure a continuous and engaged law enforcement presence." Gummer explained that through this in-house public See Metro cops Page 12