Desmond Drive encampment removal paused after occupants sue Lacey and Washington state

Lawyers for seven people experiencing homelessness have filed a federal lawsuit against Lacey and Washington state to stop the removal of their encampment.

All seven people have lived at the Desmond Drive encampment, located on state-owned property near the Washington state Department of Ecology headquarters off Martin Way.

The state, in collaboration with Lacey, wants to remove the camp as part of the state Department of Commerce’s Encampment Resolution Program, previously known as the Rights-of-Way Initiative. The program funds housing for people who have been living along state freeways or on state property.

However, lawyers for the seven plaintiffs have argued the state denied disability accommodations for five of their clients and two other clients have arbitrarily been denied housing. Attorneys Carrie Graf and Scott Crain, who work for Northwest Justice Project, filed the lawsuit in federal court in Tacoma on Feb. 9.

“As alleged in our complaint, my clients are being asked to leave Desmond Encampment, their home and community of many years,” Graf said in a statement. “They simply want to be treated with dignity and respect in this process.”

That same day, the state Department of Enterprise Services, accompanied by Lacey police, posted notices requiring all remaining occupants to leave the encampment within 72 hours or face removal, according to court records.

In response, Graf and Crain asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order, preventing Lacey and the state from trespassing the plaintiffs.

On Feb. 12, attorneys on both sides told U.S. District Judge David D. Estudillo that they had reached an agreement, according to court records. Graf said the parties agreed to pause trespass efforts for two weeks so the parties can find housing for all the people still living at the encampment.

“This pause on the trespass protects all of the plaintiffs,” Graf said. “My impression is that there is a path forward, if we all keep coming to the table.”

If that doesn’t work, Graf said they will return to court on Feb. 26 to argue for a temporary restraining order.

Linda Kent, chief external affairs officer for the state Department of Enterprise Services, told The Olympian the parties agreed to remove the 72-hour notices and continue working on finding housing for the plaintiffs.

Since then, Kent said one person on the “by-name list” and their partner have completed the intake process to move into Maple Court Enhanced Shelter in Lacey.

The “by-name list” contains the names of 26 people who DES and Lacey identified at the encampment on March 30, 2021. Only eight who remained by Jan. 10 were offered housing through the Encampment Resolution Program.

“Ultimately, we all want the same result — a better situation for all of the people who are at the site,” Kent said in a statement. “With that in mind, we are thankful for the work and coordination with our partners in this effort since 2019…”

In a statement, Shannon Kelley-Fong, assistant city manager for Lacey, said Lacey police have not removed or cited anyone from the by-name list. However, she said Lacey police have generally continued to enforce no trespassing laws in the city, including at the DES property.

Kelley-Fong declined to answer questions about the lawsuit, saying the city does not comment on pending legal matters.

What led to this lawsuit?

The state initially intended to set a Jan. 17 deadline for occupants to leave the Desmond Drive encampment but court records show those plans were paused after Graf requested accommodations for four initial clients in a Jan. 16 letter. Graf informed the state she represented three additional clients between Jan. 23 and Feb. 5.

Graf called the encampment removal a “sweep” that’s occurring under the state’s Encampment Resolution Program. She said the program has not met the needs of her clients.

“The program is intended to move people into permanent housing that is a good fit for their individual needs, so that the cycle of homelessness is stopped,” Graf said. “My clients are just asking this program work the way it’s intended.”

Court records show Thurston County commissioners asked DES on Jan. 17 to not enforce trespass actions for another week. The board reportedly wanted time to find resources through the Regional Housing Council for about a dozen “visitors” who were occupying the encampment. Those “visitors” were people who were not included on the by-name list.

Lacey announced last month that eight remaining people on the by-name list were offered housing at Maple Court in anticipation of the site being cleared. This was to be the culmination of a multi-year effort to “find solutions,” as the city has put it, for those living at the encampment.

At the time, Lacey spokesperson Donna Feliciano told The Olympian four of the eight people had accepted the offer and the city was still working with the remaining four.

On Thursday, Kent said three people on the by-name-list were still at the encampment, down from five who were present last week. Olympia Mutual Aid Partners (OlyMAP), a local non-profit, has identified seven people still at the site who were not on the by-name list, Kent said.

DES is working with Lacey’s Community Resource Unit and Mobile Outreach Team as well as Commerce’s Encampment Resolution Program and Olympia Mutual Aid Partners to offer housing for the people still at the encampment, Kent said.

In the past month, Kent said DES has cleaned up abandoned camp-sites, cut tree limbs and cleared brush at the encampment. Kent said such activity has been paused for two weeks.

Who are the plaintiffs?

Graf and Crain represent seven people: Jason Torgerson, Erin Bourgault, Brian Lindgren, Nicholas Barry, David Miller, Edgar Wells and Larry Fife. They all care for each other like a family and often share meals together, Graf said.

“They trust one another,” Graf said. “Leaving Desmond, though it may be for shelter that many housed people consider superior, means leaving their community and home for an unknown future.”

Graf said some of her clients just want to be offered shelter, some just want to move into shelter with their partner and others need time to make it through a waitlist for permanent supportive housing.

“For all of them, they want and are entitled to have a voice in conversations about what happens to them,” Graf said.

Torgerson has lived at the Desmond Drive encampment for five years and in Thurston County for 10 years, according to the complaint. He is reportedly legally blind and relies on his partner, who was not included in the by-name list, for daily living tasks.

Bourgault has lived at the encampment for more than four years and in Thurston County for 20 years, according to the complaint. She reportedly has heart problems, frequent blood clots that limit her mobility and mental health disabilities. She has six cats as emotional support animals.

Bourgault shares the cats with Lindgren, a four-year resident of the encampment and lifelong resident of Thurston County, according to the complaint. He also reportedly has mental health disabilities.

The complaint says Barry, who has lived at the encampment for about five years and in Thurston County for 40 years, lives with a mental health disability that makes Maple Court “inappropriate” for him. He is reportedly on a waiting list for shelter in Olympia.

Miller moved into Maple Court for a few days after living at the encampment with his partner for about five years, according to the complaint. He reportedly chose to return to the encampment because his partner was not allowed to move in with him, which affected his mental health.

Wells and Fife, both long-time Thurston County residents, lived at the encampment for about five years but were not present on the day DES and Lacey compiled their by-name list, the complaint says. Neither of them has claimed a disability.

How did Lacey and the state respond?

Attorneys for Lacey and the state asked the court to deny the request for a temporary restraining order, saying the plaintiffs are unlikely to satisfy legal requirements for such an order.

In their response to the complaint, three Lacey officials submitted a declaration affirming the city had no intention of arresting or citing the plaintiffs for being at the Desmond encampment. Those officials included Lacey City Manager Rick Walk, Lacey Police Chief Robert Almada and Sgt. Kevin Landwehrle, who oversees the Community Resource Unit.

In his declaration, Almada said the Lacey Police Department does not conduct unannounced “sweeps” of homeless encampments and aims to use enforcement as a last resort. He asked the court to deny the plaintiffs’ request.

“If the Court were to enter an Order implying that we are going to violate the rights of the unhoused — based on the assumption that we intend to do something we do not — it would irreparably damage the relationships and reputation we’ve built with the public and various stakeholders,” Almada said in his declaration.

The state’s response to the complaint indicates DES and its partners were willing to allow Miller, Bourgault and Lindgren to move to Maple Court with their partners, even if those partners were not on the by-names list.

Though Graf disagrees with Lacey and the state, she said she’s hopeful for a positive outcome.

“Of course, we disagree with Lacey and the state’s arguments, but right now we are trying to work together and I have been heartened by their openness to discussion and hearing my clients’ perspective and needs,” Graf said.