It’s unclear why Knezovich feels he has authority to sweep a camp that SPD has said it does not have the authority to clear.
The political melodrama surrounding the future of Camp Hope and its more than 600 residents got an unexpected guest star and plot twist today, with Spokane Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich pledging to “clear this camp by mid-October.”
Knezovich hadn’t previously had much to say about the camp to this point, but over the course of a two-page letter, the sheriff made personal attacks on local elected officials and nonprofits, threatened investigations into corruption regarding Camp Hope projects, and proposed that everyone at Camp Hope could be relocated through a combination of bus tickets, services provided by the faith community and paying a year’s rent for everyone at the encampment.
He even suggested getting the FBI involved.
It is unclear what prompted Knezovich to jump into the conflict. City communications director Brian Coddington said the city did not request the Sheriff to intervene, but that they were alerted earlier this week by Sheriff Knezovich that he was drafting a letter to the state in conjunction with the county legal department.
Coddington said that any immediate moves by the Sheriff to disband the camp would be the Sheriff’s decision, not the city’s. “We're having a conversation with the state right now about a timeline and trying to come to an agreement about how to approach moving individuals out of the camp and into alternative housing options,” Coddington said.
Knezovich’s threat to clear the camp was first issued during a phone call to Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) eastern region director Mike Gribner on Tuesday morning, according to WSDOT spokesman Joe McHale. Today’s letter from the sheriff increases pressure on an already tense situation at a time when the city and state agencies are trying to patch up their differences and move forward on solutions for moving people on from Camp Hope.
Just yesterday, the city and state came to the table to outline next steps for transitioning the camp’s residents into housing. In a press release this morning, WSDOT and Commerce described that meeting as a useful starting point towards progress. However, the state did express frustration about Knezovich’s threat to Gribner to sweep the camp. “Our agencies know all too well from past experience that clearing the encampment will simply make things worse for the entire city. Hundreds of people will spread across county, city, state and private property and the issues connected with unsanctioned encampments – from safety to litter – will be dispersed as well. This action will not make anyone’s life better or safer,” the release read, in part.
Knezovich’s formal letter to Transportation Secretary Roger Millar was delivered soon after the press release went out.
The WSDOT/Commerce release also took issue with the city for disinviting Empire Health Foundation (EHF) from the meeting. EHF has been awarded more than $500,000 in state Commerce funding to help Camp Hope residents get into housing and access mental health and substance use treatment.
Zeke Smith, the president of EHF, responded to the Sheriff’s threats with disappointment, and said this escalation was a distraction from the work being done to start moving people out of the camp. “[The Sheriff’s] threats and mis-statements about the population there only exacerbate the tensions, anxieties, and confusion of everyone involved, thereby decreasing the effectiveness of efforts to improve safety at the camp and move folks to better housing options,” Smith wrote in a statement to RANGE Media.
“The residents at Camp Hope, the service providers working with them, the state agencies involved, and even the East Central Neighborhood Council all are ready to contribute to a collaborative effort to address this issue and this is where EHF will continue to focus our energy and attention,” Smith said. “If the Sheriff wants to positively contribute to moving the residents of Camp Hope to better housing and the services they need, there will be a seat at the table for him.”
RANGE asked whether EHF would consider filing a restraining order against the sheriff’s department. In California, which is also governed by the Ninth Circuit’s Boise v. Martin decision that prevents localities from criminalizing homelessness when shelters aren’t available, homeless encampments have won temporary restraining orders to delay sweeps. Smith said, “For now, we are focused on getting this work done and supporting the residents at Camp Hope, we don’t have time to deal with distractions.”
Sheriff's response to WSDOT by RANGE on Scribd
