The Associated Press
SAN DIEGO, Calif. (AP) - A lawsuit filed on behalf of homeless people in San Diego argues police officers should not issue tickets for sleeping in public on nights when no shelter beds are available.
The class-action suit, filed Thursday in federal court, names the city of San Diego, the San Diego Police Department and Police Chief William Lansdowne.
The plaintiffs, represented by volunteer lawyers, are nine men and women who were ticketed by police on nights when social service agencies had no space in their shelters. The plaintiffs represent approximately 4,500 homeless people in the city, the lawsuit said.
Attorneys are seeking a federal court order to stop police from issuing the illegal lodging tickets unless the city provides a safe lodging zone for the homeless where they would not be ticketed.
From June 2002 to July 2003, police arrested or ticketed 2,641 people for illegal lodging. During that same time, 3,884 people were turned away from shelters, according to the lawsuit.