4 tons of trash removed during Redding camp cleanup

REDDING — Redding Police Department’s Community Clean-Up Team partnered this past Easter weekend with Shasta Support Services and Trout Unlimited to conduct a homeless encampment cleanup in the Henderson open space area near Cypress Street Bridge, in Redding.

Among those who participated in the cleanup was Redding City Council member Michael Dacquisto. He later posted video from the scene of one of the encampments, showing the “horrific and unsanitary” living conditions within the make-shift structure. (See video below.)

During the camp cleanup operation, more than two dozen officials and volunteers worked together to remove more than 8,000 pounds – or about four tons – of garbage that was left behind at abandoned encampments throughout the open area, just east of the Sacramento River.

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The cleanup effort was part of an ongoing effort to clear an extensive backlog of reports addressing abandoned homeless camps and the environmental damage that happened after a controversial court decision out of Idaho last October.

Last year’s court case decision (Marin v. Boise) temporarily crippled Redding PD and forced police officers to suspend enforcing the City’s Municipal Codes related to camping on public and private property. The court’s decision “resulted in an immediate increase of camps throughout the city limits,” Redding Police Sgt. Danny Smetak told SCNS last February.

“Although we were unable to enforce the camping ordinance, officers still gathered the complaints filed by citizens online and responded to each location to help provide those individuals with resources such as Hill Country Clinic and the Good News Rescue Mission,” Smetak explained at the time. “The Redding Police Department’s Community Cleanup Crew also continued to work diligently to try and keep the camps clean by removing thousands of pounds of excess trash and debris.”

After the court decision, City of Redding officials worked on and developed a new camping ordinance which conformed to current case law. The new camping ordinance was approved by Redding’s City Council and went into effect last February.

Since the revised illegal camping ordinance went into effect, Redding PD explained, “Our Community Clean-Up Team is diligently working through a backlog of reports to address the environmental damage that has resulted from the temporary suspension of illegal camping enforcement.”

SEE RELATED:

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“Thank you to all 25 volunteers from those organizations that came out to assist!” Redding PD wrote in a social media release describing the operation and the department’s ongoing efforts to clean up the countless active and abandoned encampments throughout the area.

After reading RPD’s social media post and viewing photos and videos of the cleanup efforts, many area residents commented, sharing their views and experiences with the many remaining active and abandoned homeless encampments throughout the city.

“This is disgusting,” Lesley Kay commented on RPD’s Facebook post. “I understand that homeless people need somewhere to sleep, just like the rest of us. But the blatant disrespect of public property is just insane. This is not how adults in any walk of life should treat their living area.”

Wendy Woodward-Forcella agreed, commenting, “We are sick and tired of crap left all over the city/county by these criminals.

“I am tired of being threatened almost every time I leave my home to do something normal,” Woodward-Forcella continued. “We are not able to use our parks or our trails or anything else that was wonderful about this community.”

“What are we going to do to stop this madness?” she asked.

Val Rusyn joined the conversation, commenting, “It takes a special group of people to leave such a mess and a special group to clean it up.”

“I will never understand how humans can be so uncaring about our environment,” Rusyn continued. “Thank you to all who care enough to clean their mess.”

To report existing or abandoned homeless encampments within the City of Redding click here.

Click any image to open full-size gallery.

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Click link below to view all RPD photos taken during this weekend’s enforcement and cleanup operation.

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Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 47, moved last year to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle, and Anza Valley Outlook; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 15 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.