SACRAMENTO, California — Complaints of excessive heat in August led to a U.S. District Court stopping Sacramento city officials from clearing homeless encampments for the second year in a row.
A federal judge granted a 14-day grace period Thursday that would keep all police and city employees from sweeping encampments.
The complaint was first filed as a lawsuit in 2022 by the Sacramento Homeless Union against Sacramento County and resulted in an almost two-month grace period.
"The Court previously concluded that the City's interest in clearing encampments during extreme heat is far outweighed by Plaintiffs' interest in the health and welfare of unhoused individuals," said Eastern District of California Judge Troy L. Nunley Thursday.
Sacramento Homeless Union advocates initially asked for stopping sweeps until mid-September before Nunley ruled on 14 days.
"Plaintiffs have presented sufficient evidence, at this stage, to demonstrate the City’s clearing of encampments constitutes 'affirmative conduct' that places unhoused individuals at an increased risk of the 'known and obvious danger' of exposure to extreme heat," said Nunley.
