Lompoc police plan homeless eviction in Riverbed area

On Monday morning Lompoc law enforcement will tackle the on going complicated homeless issue the city has faced for years in its Riverbed part of town.

The Riverbed is a vast area where the homeless build make shift homes made of tents or cardboard. But come Monday law officials are doing a mass sweep and forcing them out.

Lompoc resident Tyann Campfield isn’t sure the sweep will keep the homeless away.

“I do not think it will help fix the problem. I believe its unconstitutional, I believe it opens up our community for lawsuits which has happened in several other states and there were millions that have been paid out. I believe that the people will just disperse and end up back in the riverbed,” Campfield said.

Police say that crime is a big part of the reason they plan to clean the Riverbed area out. Shane Maldonado, who lived with his girlfriend for some time in the Riverbed, said that’s why he left.

“We left the Riverbed because it was just getting dangerous down there, the Sheriffs were coming down there, they were finding drugs. They did find a body down there…,”says Maldonado.

Maldonado also said he feels it’s unjust police will be evacuating the area because many of the homeless there have no where else to go.

On Friday Lompoc Police issued a 72 hour eviction notice to the homeless that reside there. Police will gather at the Riverbed around 7am Monday morning to began the sweep. Police say there will be a number of resources for those being evacuated on site which will include a triage center, mental health organizations, drug and alcohol counseling and housing authorities.