HONOLULU (AP) — Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union say Honolulu officials are agreeing to change how the city handles personal belongings during sweeps of homeless encampments.
HONOLULU (AP) — Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union say Honolulu officials are agreeing to change how the city handles personal belongings during sweeps of homeless encampments.
An ACLU lawsuit says city officials are destroying property belonging to homeless people instead of storing them, as required by Honolulu ordinances.
City attorneys say workers only discard items that are obviously trash.
In an agreement approved by a federal judge on Wednesday, the city has to stop throwing property into trash compactors and provide video documentation when the city decides property can’t be stored because of public safety or health risks.
The ACLU will be monitoring the sweeps.
Honolulu attorneys say the agreement allows the city to enforce ordinances in a constitutional way until a Jan. 25 injunction hearing for the lawsuit.