(IntegrityTimes.com) – St. Louis homeowners, Steven McClanahan and Richard Baumhoff, filed a lawsuit against the city on Friday February 16 to demand that the city finally take action to remove the homeless people who have been camping right in front of their home for three years. They have made multiple requests over the years to the police, but they were told that St. Louis Democrat Mayor Tishaura O. Jones has standing orders that law enforcement is not allowed to intervene in these cases.
The homeless people living in a makeshift shelter in front of McClanahan and Baumhoff’s home are well known in St. Louis, and in their neighborhood specifically. Court documents refer to them simply as “Doe and Roe”. One of the neighbors, Poncho Duckett, says that they have been in the area for up to 10 years. A spokesperson for Mayor Jones corroborated this, commenting that the city has been trying to connect Doe and Roe to shelter and services for a decade. He clarified that the city cannot force them to accept help.
Doe and Roe are known to be erratic and occasionally aggressive. They sometimes shout at McClanahan and Baumhoff as well as other people in the vicinity. Their tent is full of garbage, and they throw more garbage on the street, which has attracted rats. Neighbors have seen them using the storm drain as a toilet, which could pose a public health hazard. Both they and their encampment are dirty and smelly and generally make the area inhospitable to the people who live in the neighborhood.
The homeowners’ attorney W. Bevis Schock says his clients are compassionate people, but this untenable situation has only gotten worse over time. They can’t park in front of their home, they can’t sit on their porch and enjoy a coffee, and they have taken to entering their home through the backyard in order to avoid altercations. With the squatters in front of their home, they cannot even sell it as nobody would buy it. Schock also points out that when Vice President Kamala Harris visited St. Louis the city cleared away the homeless tents on City Hall grounds, so it can be done. Now, the city needs to step up in the interests of the taxpayers as well.
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