Homeless Sweeps Suspended

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Map, News) - Colorado Springs is suspending publicly financed cleanups of homeless camps while it examines the legal and ethical issues involved in the monthly sweeps.

The Colorado Veterans Alliance claims that the cleanup campaign has illegally discarded VA paperwork, medications, IDs and service medals that belong to homeless veterans. The group has formally notified the city it plans to file a lawsuit in federal court.

Keep Colorado Springs Beautiful, which cleans up homeless camps under a contract with the city, says it only discards trash left behind after police order homeless people out of illegal camps.

The group denies conducting illegal searches or destroying personal property, saying anything of value is turned over to police, where the owners can go to claim the items.

The Examiner