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Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho has sued the city of Sacramento for failing to improve the homelessness crisis there. Ho threatened to sue the city two months ago if officials could not find a way to do more to improve the situation. Now he has officially sued the city of Sacramento for creating a public nuisance. Ho says this lawsuit is the first of its kind in the nation.
“Enough is enough,” Ho said. “We need to address this public safety crisis for both the housed and the unhoused.”
Ho's lawsuit alleges the current conditions in Sacramento are creating an unsafe environment for everyone in the city. The lawsuit also says the homeless population has increased by over 250% in the last seven years since Darrell Steinberg was elected mayor.
Minutes after the lawsuit went public Mayor Steinberg fired back by saying the city has been trying to get the homelessness situation under control.
“No local government in the Sacramento region has done more to address the crisis on our streets," Steinberg said. "1,200 new emergency beds, ordinances to protect sidewalks, schools and other sensitive sites; a legally binding partnership with the county; thousands of new affordable housing units-to name a few. 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."