Leftist Democrats have been running roughshod over residents in Blue cities for decades. Their radically “progressive” policies have caused higher crime rates, forced businesses to close, and prompted taxpaying residents to flee for safer communities.
Residents of these crime-infested cities that want to stay have had enough. They want so-called municipal leaders to shut down crime and return the cities to safe places that attract people to live and work there.
Separate groups of concerned residents filed lawsuits against one of the most notoriously liberal cities in the nation. They want a court to force city officials to fix the problems.
From the Daily Caller:
A group of residents in San Francisco’s most crime-ridden neighborhood sued the city over open-air drug markets and rampant homelessness, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.The lawsuit, which was filed on behalf of four unnamed Tenderloin residents and the Phoenix and Best Western hotels, alleges that city policies have allowed an open-air drug market to persist in the city and that officials have tolerated criminal activities in the area, according to the Chronicle.
The city was also hit with other lawsuits from both sides of the equation. The Coalition on Homelessness, a nonprofit assisting the homeless in the city, argued the city has been cruel in its application of homeless ordinances, and the University of California (UC) College of the Law, San Francisco, argued that the city has been too lax.
At the center of the city’s problems is the spike in crime in the Tenderloin district. Crime increased by 240% from August 2022 to August 2023, according to crime data calculated by San Franciso.
A statement from the city defended its efforts in reducing crime, disrupting open-air drug markets, and addressing homelessness. Officials stated progress is being made according to court orders. Plaintiffs in the lawsuits don’t appear to agree with the city’s position.
“The city blithely treats the Tenderloin as a place where this type of harmful activity can happen on the streets and sidewalks, and it’s inconceivable that they’d allow it in other neighborhoods,” Matthew Davis, an attorney representing the plaintiffs in both the UC College of Law San Francisco case and the Tenderloin residents case, told the Chronicle.
The city is a hotbed of social problems and questionable tactics used by the city to combat criminal activity and homelessness. The Coalition of Homelessness lawsuit in 2022 alleged that San Francisco has violated the Eight Amendment and its cruel and unusual punishment protections along with the Fourth Amendment by removing homeless people from public areas and seizing their belongings.
As city residents demanded more police to combat crime, officers claimed they were underfunded by the local government. The persistent problems in the city contributed to the San Francisco Bay Area losing 250,000 residents between 2020 and 2022.
It looks like lawsuits are the only way to force government officials to follow the law and do their jobs in these liberal cities.
Key Takeaways:
- Fed up residents sued San Francisco for rampant crime and homelessness in the city.
- Crime ran rampant in one neighborhood and forced businesses and residents to flee.
- City officials are accused of breaking the law and residents want help from the courts.
Source: Daily Caller