Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho has filed a lawsuit against the city, alleging the homeless crisis has left people living in “Third World” conditions.
KCRA 3 posted a press conference to YouTube where Ho, a Democrat, blamed the city for the homeless “public safety crisis.
Ho noted, “The community is at a breaking point,” and also claimed Mayor Darrell Steinberg has not upheld his promise to address the issue.
The Washington Examiner reported this has been deemed a danger to residents by Ho.
Within the court filing, 36 pages detail a “descent into decay and this utter chaos,” noting that homelessness has risen by 250% in seven years.
The lawsuit notes, “Among the chronically homeless, those who have been unhoused for over a year, nine out of 10 women have been victims of sexual assault.”
“During the recent heat wave in the summer of 2023, unhoused people were seen walking on the sizzling sidewalk barefoot,” it goes on.
“During the cold winter months of 2022, unhoused people were seen wrapped in blankets standing in the pouring rain,” the lawsuit adds.
In addition, the lawsuit notes the effects this has had on residents stating, “It’s not compassionate to allow unsafe conditions to fester so badly that a 14-year-old boy cannot ride his bike to school or a group of little girls can’t play soccer on a field littered with needles.”
Within minutes of the lawsuit announcement, Steinberg, a Democrat, stated, “The frustration that members of our community feel is absolutely justified.”
Steinberg admitted there is a problem the city is trying to address, but then criticized Ho for his actions.
Steinberg said, “The D.A.’s lawsuit will not clear a single sidewalk nor get a single person off the streets.”
He then concluded, “Frankly, we have no time for the District Attorney’s performative distraction from the hard work we all need to do together to solve this complex social problem plaguing urban centers throughout the state and nation.”