Guns found, arrests made at Sacramento homeless camp near neighborhood: "We were all prisoners in our home."
SACRAMENTO - Police found multiple guns and made a dozen arrests in a homeless camp in Sacramento.
The Sacramento Police Department said specialty units have dedicated weeks focusing on the area that includes a bike trail east of Rio Linda Boulevard and north of Interstate 80.
"Our quality of life when these people were here was literally awful," said Angela Miles, who lives near the bike trail.
Sacramento police said officers seized loaded guns, drugs including fentanyl, multiple pipes, and syringes, and made 12 arrests during the operation.
"They could no longer say, 'Oh, this is just poor people needing help,' " Miles said.
Miles shared the dozens of photos she has taken of the trail over the years, which show needles littering the path she and others living nearby always avoided.
"We were all prisoners in our home," she said. "It was unsafe."
Now, the path is practically cleared of the tents and campers.
"My concern is just trying to keep these people away from there," Miles said.
Police said it is up to the city to decide whether to place barriers on the path. It said general homeless enforcement is done through the city's Incident Management Team.
The city said it is currently conducting an environmental analysis of the bike trail that will include signage and other safety barriers.
"I have peace," Miles said. "Neighbors said we got to go have a walk on the bike trail. We have to have a party on the bike trail."
In a city budget approved this week, the city council allocated $250,000 for the Sacramento Northern Bike Trail maintenance and safety restoration.
Police said they will continue to monitor the needs of the community and reallocate resources as needed. It did this operation in response to the complaints surrounding homeless encampments in this area.
The Sacramento Police Department gave CBS13 this statement:
"The Sacramento Police Department will continue to work closely with our community and business partners along with all of our local stakeholders to continue the collaborative efforts between law enforcement and the community with the ultimate goal of ensuring the safety and security of residents and visitors to our great city."