Lawsuit Filed Over Seattle’s Cleanups of Homeless Camps

SEATTLE (AP) — Two homeless people in Seattle have filed a federal lawsuit alleging the city and the state's cleanups of unauthorized homeless camps are unlawful.

The Seattle Times reports the lawsuit filed Thursday says the homeless camp sweeps are unnecessarily cruel and violate the rights of people living in them.

Brandie Osborne and Lisa Hooper are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington.

They claim homeless residents have their property seized during the sweeps without adequate and effective notice and that their belongings get destroyed.

The lawsuit seeks a court order to stop the cleanups until officials implement different procedures for conducting them.

A state transportation department spokesman declined to comment on the lawsuit. A spokeswoman for City Attorney Pete Holmes says he has yet to review the complaint.