King County Sheriff’s lawsuit over Burien camping ban thrown out by federal judge

A federal judge in Seattle has dismissed the King County Sheriff’s lawsuit over a homeless camping ban in the city of Burien, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision supporting the rights of cities to enact those restrictions. It’s the latest step in a standoff between the sheriff and leaders of the city southwest of Seattle, over their attempts to restrict homeless encampments.

Burien officials are calling the decision a significant legal victory.

“Burien looks forward to working with King County to learn when and how it will begin enforcement of Burien’s ordinance," the city said in a statement.

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Last March, Burien passed its "unlawful public camping" ordinance, which prohibits homeless camping across much of the city, including anywhere within 500 feet of schools, parks, and libraries. The King County Sheriff’s office, which is contracted to provide the city’s policing services, declined to enforce it.

King County Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall sued shortly after in federal court, seeking to have the law declared unconstitutional. King County’s lawsuit cited the Ninth Circuit’s 2019 decision in Martin v. City of Boise, which held that cities cannot enforce anti-camping ordinances if they do not have any shelter beds available.

In an order filed Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Richard Jones rejected Sheriff Cole-Tindall’s challenge, noting that the case she cited has since been overturned by a U.S. Supreme Court decision issued in June. The Grants Pass decision found that local laws enforcing camping in public don't violate the constitutional rights of people who are homeless.

Judge Jones also said King County lacked standing to sue because the sheriff has not suffered any injury as a result of the ordinance, and “the legal rights that King County Plaintiffs assert against the City of Burien are nebulous.”

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So far King County has responded that it is not changing course on enforcement in Burien.

“Unfortunately, the court determined it lacked jurisdiction to hear either lawsuits brought forward by King County or Burien. Still, that decision leaves unresolved important constitutional concerns that motivated the Sheriff to pause enforcement of Burien's ordinance," the sheriff's office said in a statement Wednesday.

The Sheriff’s Office also released a letter suggesting that Burien Mayor Kevin Schilling was open to returning to the city's previous ordinance which allowed some overnight camping if no shelter was available.

In an email to KUOW, Schilling said that King County's letter was “not based in a factual conversation and mischaracterizes a conversation I had with the city police chief.”

“The only solution moving forward, as it always has been, is for the Sheriff to prioritize public safety over politics and enforce our ordinance we pay them to enforce. The elected Burien City Council makes laws for Burien, not the unelected Sheriff," Schilling added.

Burien’s current chief of police is Tom Calabrese. He and all officers are employees of the King County Sheriff’s Office, although they often use Burien-branded uniforms and vehicles.

Burien officials called for the removal of the city’s previous chief Ted Boe amid the standoff with the sheriff's office. Boe subsequently resigned from the position and the King County Sheriff’s Office, and accepted the position of police chief for the neighboring city of Des Moines, which has its own police department.

Former Burien City Councilmember Cydney Moore, who heads the Burien Community Support Coalition, said in a statement to KUOW that there could be more legal rulings to come.

"While it is disappointing to see the sheriff's lawsuit dismissed, it is important to note the question of constitutionality and violation of civil rights in regards to the Burien anti-homeless ordinances has yet to be settled," Moore said. "In fact, there are still multiple lawsuits pending against the City of Burien, including a case filed on behalf of unhoused individuals themselves, who have been victims of Burien's anti-homeless laws, and therefore have grounds to sue the City that the sheriff lacked, in this case."

Moore added, "It is also important to recognize the real-world impacts of these anti-homeless laws. While attorneys battle over legal standing in court, human beings are fighting just to survive out on the streets. Although the City of Burien was successful in getting the sheriff's lawsuit dismissed, it has utterly failed in its duties of care for the health and safety of its most vulnerable residents, who remain woefully underserved as Burien leadership continues an aggressive approach seeking to eliminate homeless people from its jurisdiction, rather than working towards solutions to address the homelessness crisis effectively."

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