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Letter to the editor

Homeless who lost tents sue

St. Petersburg owes for belongings, the lawsuit claims.

By CRISTINA SILVA, Times Staff Writer
Published August 7, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - The image of police officers slashing the tents of nearly two dozen homeless people flooded the Internet in January, creating a public relations nightmare for the city.

Now two of the victims, whose possessions were destroyed, are fighting back. Former tent city residents Harry Hoffman and Kathy Hines sued the city Friday, demanding compensation for destroyed property, including toiletries and clothing they claim were lost when police officers discarded their tents on Jan. 19.

Darryl Rouson, a prominent civil rights attorney representing the homeless residents, alleged the city destroyed his client's property without due process, therefore violating their constitutional rights.

"If a government can, through tyrannical ways, just take and destroy peoples' personal possessions without lawful process and procedure, then who is safe?" Rouson said during a telephone interview Monday.

During the raid, police seized 22 tents and slashed eight. The incident highlighted the homeless crisis in St. Petersburg and triggered a heated, nationwide debate on whether the city had acted justly.

In the lawsuit, Rouson called the seizure, "a politically motivated dog and pony show orchestrated by the mayor's office or other city representatives." Rouson says the city offered each of his clients $250 to settle the complaint last week, but he believes they deserve more. He asked the court to appoint a jury to decide how much his clients are owed.

But city officials said their settlement offer was more than generous.

One homeless person has settled with the city and accepted that sum, said Assistant City Attorney Joseph Patner, who called the lawsuit "complete nonsense" and "inflammatory."

By removing the tents, the city was trying to prevent an emergency, Patner said. Since 2005, three homeless people in Tampa have died after lighting a fire in a tent either by cooking or smoking, he said.

"It was our intent to have everyone be safe out there," he said. "If we had waited until someone was actually physically injured, then it would have been too late."

Cristina Silva can be reached at 727 893-8846 or csilva@sptimes.

[Last modified August 6, 2007, 23:58:16]