Homeless man who alleged Fresno police used excessive force files lawsuit against city
A civil lawsuit filed in federal court is trying to stop the City of Fresno and its police department from forcing homeless people off public property and destroying their personal possessions.
The 40-page class-action lawsuit, authored by civil rights attorney Kevin Little, was filed on behalf of Lewis Brown and others like him who have been evicted from makeshift campsites across the city.
Officials with the city and police department declined to comment Wednesday.
Little argues the city has a longstanding history of marginalizing its homeless population, including “arbitrarily moving them from place to place, taking and destroying their property without due process, using excessive and unreasonable force on them.”
And those who seek to assert their rights, such as Brown, are punished, the lawsuit states.
The 62-year-old Brown was arrested by police on Feb. 21, 2020 while living on a property called the “180 Camp.” The camp borders the north side of Highway 180 near West Avenue, not far from the ASPCA facility.
Brown was there along with 40 others when the police department’s Homeless Task Force arrived without notice and began telling people to leave, according to the lawsuit.
But Brown questioned the police about the basis for what they were doing. Brown was arrested by officers who said he was resisting.
During his trial in June, the jury was shown body cam footage of the arrest. Brown’s lawyer, called the arrest an excessive use of force. Brown suffered injuries to his face, knees, back and torso as a result of the officers’ uses of force, the lawsuit states.
After a four-day trial, the jury returned its verdict in 90 minutes and found Brown not guilty.
Brown, who remains homeless, has returned to the same area to live. Although he won his court case, he lost the sight in one of his eyes as a result of his forceful arrest by police, Little said.
The lawsuit names the City of Fresno, Police Chief Paco Balderrama, Mayor Jerry Dyer and former police chief Andy Hall as defendants, in addition to several police officers.
The lawsuit seeks damages — general, special and punitive — against each defendant. It also asks the court to stop punishing people who live on public property, based on their homeless statuses, and to prohibit the seizure and destruction of their property.
Little said he is aware the homeless problem in Fresno is complex and he’s not suggesting he has the perfect answer. But as the city works on a sustainable solution that provides long-term housing and access to social services, the rights of Fresno’s homeless population must be protected.
This story was originally published February 23, 2022 at 4:01 PM.
