Some homeless camp sweeps stopped by civil rights monitors

SEATTLE – As Seattle works to clean up homeless camps in the city, some efforts have been stopped for not following protocol.

The Seattle Times reported that between September and early November the city conducted 26 cleanups, four of which were halted by monitors from the city’s Office of Civil Rights.

The Seattle Times reviewed handwritten notes kept by the observers.

Two of the halted sweeps were stopped after Seattle Police Department officers assigned to provide security left the cleanup. Another two efforts were halted when monitors found campers weren’t given proper notice about the cleanups.

A fifth cleanup was stopped by the Washington State Department of Transportation officials after they realized permits had not been secured to use park department vehicles and heavy equipment.