Sacramento’s top prosecutor is suing city leaders for failing to clear homeless encampments, escalating a monthslong dispute with leaders in California’s capital.

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Thien Ho announced the lawsuit Tuesday at a press conference in Sacramento, saying the city is seeing a collapse into chaos that he said reflects the erosion of daily life.” A group of residents and business owners also filed a companion lawsuit against the city.

Ho said his office had asked the city to enforce local laws around sidewalk obstacles and create additional professionalism

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operated campgrounds, but the city did not

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The lawsuit includes accounts from dozens of city residents living around fourteen encampments. Some homeowners reported being threatened with guns at the front door and having their property broken into and vandalized

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some from their homes. Local business owners said they spent thousands of dollars to upgrade their security systems after their employees were attacked by homeless people, while calls to city officials for help went unanswered, the lawsuit said.

This is a model for the people to stand up and hold their government accountable, Ho said in an interview on Tuesday. All I ask is that the city does its job.

Sacramento County had nearly 9,300 homeless people in 2022, based on data from the annual Point in Time count. That was up 67% from 2019. About three-quarters of the county’s homeless population is unsheltered, and the majority of that group lives on the streets of Sacramento.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said Ho was politicizing the issue. The city has added 1,200 emergency shelter beds, passed ordinances to protect sidewalks and schools and created more affordable housing, Steinberg said in a statement.

Sacramento, which was ordered not to clear homeless encampments, did so anyway. “Mistakes,” says the city

The city is trying to avoid the pointless trap of endlessly moving people from one block to another, Steinberg said. People’s frustrations are absolutely justified, but Ho’s actions are a performative distraction, he said.

The city needs real partnership from the region’s leaders, not from politics and lawsuits, he said.

The number of homeless encampments has visibly grown in cities across the US, but especially in California, where nearly a third of the country’s unhoused people live.

Ho had threatened in August to file charges against city officials if they did not implement the changes within 30 days. In a letter to the city, Ho demanded that Sacramento implement a daytime camping ban

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Homeless people must store their belongings between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m., according to different rules.

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Susana Alcala Wood’s office has also repeatedly urged Ho to work with the city to address the problem, she said.

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We would rather point fingers and blame than work together to achieve meaningful solutions for our community, Alcala Wood said in a statement.

Ho, who was elected in 2022 after pledging to campaign to address the city’s homelessness crisis, said he has asked the city to share real-time data on available shelter beds with law enforcement. He expects the lawsuit to go to trial and hopes a jury will agree with what he has proposed.

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This is a rare opportunity for us to develop meaningful, effective tools to get people experiencing chronic homelessness off the streets, Ho said.

Ho said he supports a variety of solutions

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including enforcing laws and creating new programs to provide services to people dealing with addiction or mental health issues. He said he supports a statewide measure that would lead to the construction of more treatment facilities. Voters will decide on this measure next year. He also supports proposed changes to the state’s conservatorship system, which would make it easier for authorities to mandate treatment for people with alcohol and drug abuse.

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use disorders.

The dispute between the district attorney and the city was further complicated by a lawsuit filed earlier this year by a homeless organization that resulted in an order from a federal judge temporarily banning the city from clearing homeless encampments during extreme heat. That order has now been lifted, but the group wants it extended.

The lawyer for the homeless coalition also filed a complaint with the police

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This month he said Ho abused his power by pushing the city to clear camps when the order was in effect.

Hos’ news conference included testimony from residents who say the city is not providing resources to address homelessness. Emily Webb said people are alive

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an encampment near her home has encroached on her property, blocked her driveway and threatened her family, but city officials have done little to clear the encampment.

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We sleep poorly and are exhausted by this stress,” she said on Tuesday. We are beyond frustrated and no longer feel comfortable or safe in our home.

Critics have said encampments are unsanitary and lawless, and prevent children, elderly residents and the disabled from using public spaces such as sidewalks. They say it is not humane or compassionate to allow people to deteriorate outside their homes.

But homeless advocates say they can’t alleviate the crisis without more investment in affordable housing and services, and that camping bans and encampments needlessly traumatize the homeless.