Judge Rules Against Los Angeles
A federal judge has ruled that the city of Los Angeles is liable for destroying the property of homeless individuals during encampment cleanups. The judgment found that the city violated constitutional rights, a decision with immediate implications for municipal policy and the handling of the homelessness crisis.
- The case, *Garcia v. City of Los Angeles*, was filed in 2019 by six unhoused individuals and the advocacy group KTown For All, alleging the city's practices violated the 4th Amendment's protection against illegal seizure and the 14th Amendment's guarantee of due process. - U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer issued a rare default judgment, ending the case without a trial, because the city was found to have acted "willfully and in bad faith" by altering, fabricating, and destroying evidence. - A court-ordered forensic analysis revealed that records for more than 90% of 144 encampment cleanups were modified or fabricated after the city was legally required to preserve the documents. - According to the judge's ruling, city employees changed records to justify seizing property, adding terms like "biohazards" or describing items as "dangerous" or "surrendered." - This legal battle is one of several challenges to Los Angeles Municipal Code 56.11, which regulates the storage of personal property in public areas; in an earlier phase of this case, the court had already barred the city from seizing items deemed "bulky." - The ruling establishes the city's liability, but the specific remedies have not yet been determined; plaintiffs are seeking monetary damages and a permanent injunction that would reform the city's cleanup and property seizure procedures. - This case is distinct from but related to the broader *LA Alliance for Human Rights v. City of Los Angeles* settlement, in which the city is under separate federal court oversight to create thousands of shelter beds and address the overall homelessness crisis.
