Federal judge rules that police can't destroy the property of homeless people

MINNEAPOLIS– A federal judge has decided police can no longer destroy property belonging to homeless people.

This ruling comes after a 2020 lawsuit on behalf of nine homeless people. They say authorities in Minneapolis and Hennepin County violated their constitutional rights by forcing them out of encampments on public property and destroying their belongings.

On Friday, Judge Wilhelmina Wright said that officials can evict homeless encampments from public property, but they cannot wreck property or make people leave their things behind.