By Denver ramps up abuse of the unhoused in a bitter and contentious winter, at the height of Colorado’s Covid crisis, even as a federal lawsuit this week threatens to end the city’s unconstitutional sweeps.
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Since April, the City of Denver has executed 35 houseless encampment “sweeps”— an innocuous but accurate nickname for the cyclical destruction of property and the violent displacement of vulnerable communities. This brute-force tactic has been the spearhead of Denver’s response to the city’s expanding housing crisis all year.
For those readers unaware of what a houseless sweep entails, imagine this: After a cold night of fitful sleep, you are woken up before 5 AM by the sound of heavy construction right outside your tent. Chain-link fencing is being dragged across asphalt, quickly caging you into a few square blocks, while a parade of police cruisers and utility trucks idle on your street, their blaring lights a silent threat. There is the grinding roar of a Bobcat as it pulls up and parks, waiting in the wings to dispose of whatever homes or possessions need crushing in the next few hours.
The Denver Police Department begins rousing residents before the sun comes up, shaking their tents and informing them that they need to pack up and vacate the premises in a matter of hours. Residents (who are present) are told that their excess belongings can be stored by the city, at a single location on the west side of town. However, when trying to survive on the streets through a long winter, deciding what to store and what to keep puts unhoused individuals between the hammer and anvil.
If a tent is found empty, city workers often cut it open, instantly making it unusable, searching for any piece of contraband that would deem the tent “disposable”, including half-eaten food, sharps/drug paraphernalia, any sign of rodents/bugs, or unhygienic conditions. If any of these items are found, the entirety of the tent can be destroyed, along with every piece of personal property it holds.
Mind you, as the nights begin to freeze, some unhoused residents seek safety and warmth away from their tent—inside with friends or family, at a shelter, etc. In some cases, when they return to their home the next morning, they find their tent gone and their possessions destroyed. At other times, a resident may have too much to move in a single trip to their new spot, but when they return for the remainder, it has already been scooped up and trashed, destined for the dump.
A federal trial seeking an injunction to stop the sweeps begins tomorrow morning (December 15th) at the Alfred A. Arraj Federal Courthouse in Denver. Unhoused residents who have experienced such property destruction nightmares will testify during this two-day hearing, pleading the case that these sweeps should be halted, at least during the Covid-19 pandemic, to protect the health and safety of Denver’s unhoused citizens, and to prevent broader community spread. Additionally, the lawsuit holds that Denver officials have blatantly ignored a 2018 settlement agreement (Lyall et al. v. Denver) on multiple occasions by showing up at houseless encampments without notice, demanding that residents move along, and in some instances, seizing and destroying their property.
However, even as Federal District 10 Judge Martinez hears this case on Tuesday morning, less than 3 miles away, the 36th sweep of this pandemic will be executed at Kalamath and 4th Avenue. Two days later, the 37th sweep is scheduled to target the camp at 16th and Pearl, which approximately 50 people call home. Even while the legality of such actions is being debated in federal court, the city of Denver is trying to squeeze in more brutal mornings, a final chunk of overtime for cops, and thousands more into contractor pockets. If this week’s injunction succeeds, it means turning off that tap of money, at least temporarily.
In a nauseating twist, this Pearl St. sweep will happen right across the street from the city’s second SOS (Safe Outdoor Space) site—set to open that same day—offering permanent tent housing for 40 people. Denver’s first SOS site, which opened last week, offers space for roughly the same number. While these SOS sites are a begrudging step in the right direction, they are Band-Aids for bullet wounds, as the city’s unhoused population is estimated at over 5,000— and rising, with the moratorium on rent ending in a few short weeks and a looming eviction crisis statewide.
Denver’s response to its unhoused crisis can be called many things—inadequate, classist, violent, racist, heartless, complex, pathetic… but cruel feels most fitting.
In the last 14 days alone, there have been 5 days of sweeps, displacing more than 400 human beings to scatter and survive somewhere, anywhere else in freezing December temperatures. While these relentless sweeps have required the coordination of multiple agencies, hundreds of individuals, and millions of dollars, the authority to stop them ultimately lies with one person— Mayor Michael B. Hancock.
This is the same mayor who will not be appearing in federal court this week to defend his unconstitutional decisions regarding the sweeps, as quashing a subpoena is apparently easy when one has the privilege of power. This level of entitlement and contempt for justice is shocking, but not surprising. After all, this is the same city so beholden to real estate interests that it bulldozed the oldest and largest houseless camp in Denver (29th and Arkins) so a new luxury development could proceed with its rezoning request.
There are currently more than 20,000 empty apartments and condos in the greater Denver area, yet the city prioritized another 16-story, horizon-blocking monstrosity over the stability and survival of 300 vulnerable citizens.
Calling the mayor a despot may seem hyperbolic, but the defining characteristic of such a leader is cruelty, coupled with an oppressive disregard for the rights of their people. The manifestation of the mayor’s negligent cruelty is most clearly seen in the Denver Police Department, with their riot gear and tear gas and batons at the ready, seemingly eager to be aimed at a problem. Even ignoring this year of brutal houseless sweeps, the evidence for such a claim is not hard to find.
Last week, Denver’s Office of the Independent Monitor reported that the Denver Police Department lacked a coherent plan in the wake of the George Floyd protests, failing to keep records of which officers were on duty and where, as well as how many non-lethal munitions were used during the first five days of unrest.
Many officers also failed to file use-of-force reports for days or even weeks after violent clashes with protesters, clashes that have resulted in more than 50 investigations of officer conduct violations. Righteous outcries to defund or abolish the police still resonate in this city and across the nation, but let us not forget who proverbially signs their checks.
Mayor Hancock has become entrenched in this city after a decade in power and continues to weaponize city departments in a war against his own people. His political maneuvering to avoid accountability in federal court, his enabling of police brutality and violence against citizens, and his disdain for unprofitable demographics all align Denver’s mayor with another despotic American leader who has been in power too long, despite the (D) beside Hancock’s name.
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