The Multnomah County District Attorney’s office has serious issues with its role in enforcing Mayor Ted Wheeler’s so-called daytime camping ban, with enforcement previously set to begin Nov. 13. The mayor had yet to address the district attorney’s concerns as of Nov. 9, the same day a Multnomah County Circuit judge approved a preliminary injunction barring the city from enforcing the ordinance until an Oregon Law Center lawsuit against the city plays out in court.
Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt outlined his concerns and questions in a letter to Wheeler on Nov. 6. Wheeler had not responded to the letter Nov. 9, according to Liz Merah, Multnomah County District Attorney’s office communications director. Most notably, Schmidt told Wheeler the district attorney’s office is not equipped to provide the alternative enforcement measures and social service connections described as the district attorney’s responsibility in the ordinance.
Schmidt also told Wheeler the Portland Police Bureau, or PPB, would need to provide a substantial amount of documentation for the cases to be prosecutable, including reports on each interaction with a subject prior to citation or arrest.
Merah said Wheeler did not notify the district attorney’s office of Wheeler’s Nov. 13 enforcement date prior to announcing it at an Oct. 30 press conference.
“We have not received a response, and we did not receive notification from the Mayor's office that enforcement would begin,” Merah told Street Roots Nov. 9.
Wheeler’s office did not respond to Street Roots’ request for comment at the time of publishing.
Wheeler previously highlighted the district attorney’s role in avoiding imposing criminal penalties on homeless Portlanders who violate the ordinance, which levies a $100 fine, 30 days in jail or both after two initial warnings. The district attorney’s role is a prominent factor in Wheeler’s assertion the ordinance is focused on connecting homeless Portlanders with resources.
“The third violation will be subject to criminal enforcement with fines or jail time, though the District Attorney's office will be focused on seeking alternative sentences, which the City fully supports,” the ordinance states. “Enforcement of this ordinance is intended to be a tool to connect people with appropriate resources, while also addressing behavior that is damaging to our community.”
Schmidt’s letter specifically addresses the current lack of feasibility for the role Wheeler described for the district attorney in the ordinance.
“While I share these values, the District Attorney’s office is not a service provider,” Schmidt wrote to Wheeler. “While we can refer individuals prosecuted by our office to treatment options that exist in the community, including housing assistance, addiction treatment, or mental health counseling, we have no resources within our own budget for this purpose. Because this is a municipal ordinance, no treatment dollars are available within the state budget on which we typically rely to provide treatment to individuals charged with crimes, nor is any currently funded specialty court available for this purpose.
“We ask you to urgently partner with us in locating appropriate services to fulfill the stated purpose of this ordinance. Until this occurs, any representation that we will ‘connect people with appropriate resources' is well intended but unlikely to come to fruition. We are available to work with you, our county partners, and the Joint Office of Homeless Services to find these resources, but cannot do so alone.”
Schmidt also told Wheeler cases Portland police refer to the district attorney’s office without meeting minimum standards — such as police reports of each interaction, copies of prior warnings given, and access to witnesses with contact information who can establish shelter options were available to the subject on each date and time they were found in violation — will be sent back to PPB, asking for follow-up documentation.
“While we recognize that this creates additional work for frontline officers, we will be unable to prove violations of the ordinance as written without this documentation,” Schmidt wrote.
Street Roots asked PPB last week what training was being provided to officers and how enforcement was expected to work. PPB directed all questions to Wheeler’s office, which did not respond. Wheeler’s office also declined to respond to a separate set of questions about police training and how the mayor’s office would encourage compliance prior to arrest.
Read the full letter below:
Wheeler re Camping Ban Enforcement 11-6-23.pdf
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