‘This is validation’: Phoenix homeless welcome Justice Department’s findings, call for consent decree
Faith Kearns sank to the ground and burst into tears in her studio apartment on Thursday after the Justice Department asserted something she had known for years: Phoenix police routinely violate the rights of homeless people.
Faith Kearns sank to the ground and burst into tears in her studio apartment on Thursday after the Justice Department asserted something she had known for years: Phoenix police routinely violate the rights of homeless people.
“When the DOJ said that, it was like, ‘Wow, this is validation,’” said Kearns, who didn’t have permanent housing for more than a decade before moving into transitional housing in 2021. “And it’s validation for a lot of the homeless that were with me on the street.”
The conclusion followed a 34-month investigation into abuse allegations against the Police Department, between 2016 and 2022. The 126-page report also includes instances from 2023 and 2024.
Among other things, the Justice Department found that Phoenix police frequently stop, detain and arrest homeless people without reasonable suspicion that they’ve committed any crime and also that officers unlawfully seize their property. The report marks the first time a civil rights investigation into police practices found that the civil and constitutional rights of homeless people were violated.
Kearns, 64, said interactions she had with police left her feeling like “scum” and “dirt.” She recalled an instance when an officer mocked her and a friend for lying in sleeping bags on the street.
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