(David Ryder/Getty Images)
(SEATTLE) The City of Seattle has agreed to pay $10,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by a formerly homeless camper who was displaced in a large sweep operation last December at Cal Anderson Park, according to the Seattle Times.
The settlement concludes a dispute that began in December, when Seattle authorities issued a 48-hour notice to campers who filled part of the park that they were camping illegally and their structures would be forcibly cleared. Ada Yeager sued, saying that she had been living in the park since June, and arguing that the 48-hour notice to remove her belongings from the park amounted to “warrantless seizure and destruction of personal property,” among other claims.
Yeager has since found temporary housing, the Times reported.
The claims were an iteration of contentions by people experiencing homelessness as well as activists that the the city unconstitutionaly seizes belongings including identity documents and other important articles during sweeps, according to the Seattle Times.
The city broadly claims that people whose camps are cleared can retreive their belongings from storage, but groups including the ACLU have claimed that doing so is actually extremely difficult or even impossible, according to the Times.
Yeager's claims were outlined in court documents posted by citizen watchdog and independent journalist Kevin Schoefield.
A judge ultimately cleared the way for the sweep in December after a short delay.
A spokesperson for the Seattle City Attorney’s Office said the city opted to settle “to avoid the time and expense of further litigation,” according to the Times.