Local News in Brief : Homeless Activist Sues
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Homeless activist Ted Hayes on Thursday filed suit against the city of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Police Department, alleging false arrest and violation of his civil rights in an incident last June.
The suit, which seeks $2.5 million in punitive damages, stems from Hayes’ arrest for trespassing at a homeless camp established by the city in the downtown area last summer. No charges were ever filed against Hayes, whose group, Justiceville, was among 600 homeless who stayed at the camp.
In his suit, Hayes says that city officials agreed that homeless people would handle their own weapons searches of those entering the campground. But on June 16, the camp’s second day, Hayes said the defendants demanded that he “submit to a search of his person or be arrested.”
A similar suit was filed Thursday by David Norrington, another homeless camper arrested for trespassing that day.
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