The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska said Wednesday that the city was violating the civil rights of homeless people by evicting them from camps when local shelters are full and demanded an end to the practice.
In a letter to Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz, the ACLU contended that clearing homeless camps when sufficient shelter space was not available could pose a violation of the constitutional rights of the people living in the camps.
But the letter drew a sharp retort from Berkowitz, who said in an interview the ACLU was criticizing policies the organization was responsible for creating.
In the letter, executive director Joshua Decker and attorney Eric Glatt said the ACLU of Alaska applauded efforts by the mayor and the Anchorage Assembly to tackle homelessness and move people from camps into subsidized housing.
But Decker and Glatt said the ACLU was alarmed by recent reports that city shelters have been inundated by people displaced from the camps. They asked for Berkowitz to halt evictions on public property until more housing became available.
"It's simply an unwise policy," Decker said in an interview Wednesday. "These people have nowhere to go."
The letter said the ACLU was concerned the city's policies were violating Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment. It cited a Los Angeles court case where homeless people sued the city over enforcing ordinances that barred sitting, lying or sleeping in public places, saying the city had created the situation by not providing enough shelter space.
In the interview, Decker said the ACLU is not considering a lawsuit at this point but he looked forward to hearing from the mayor's office.
Berkowitz rebuffed the organization's demands in a phone interview Wednesday. He said the letter had "gaps in factual basis and gaps in legal analysis" and that there wasn't evidence supporting the claims.
"I would hope that (the ACLU) would turn their resources to helping us solve the problems without litigating it," Berkowitz said. "Especially since the process we have followed is the process they established."
The ACLU sued the city in 2010 over a law allowing police to clear homeless camps with as little as 12 hours' notice. A judge ultimately struck down the law, leading to the city's current policy of providing more than two weeks' notice before clearing a camp and disposing of personal belongings.
Berkowitz said the city has not criminalized homelessness and is not requiring anyone to go to Bean's Cafe and Brother Francis Shelter. He accused the ACLU of "self-promotion."
He also said the city is waiting on the state to process dozens of state and federally funded housing vouchers that could provide housing to individuals at the shelters.