Governor tells Austin to reinstate camping ban

Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday sent a letter to Mayor Steve Adler telling him to reinstate bans for people experiencing homelessness to camp in public places.

"The consequences of repealing the ban are manifested daily on the streets of Austin: human feces, hypodermic needles, mounds of garbage, and people living in unsanitary conditions that could lead to an outbreak of communicable diseases," Abbott wrote.

Abbott said typhus and Hepatitis A are resurfacing in West Coast communities dealing with large populations of people living on the streets.

The governor's letter to Adler was his second in a week, the first threatening that he would use state resources to address homelessness in Austin if city leaders failed to do so by November.

"After my prior letter, you publicly assured Austin Police Chief Manley that if the police needed anything, 'just tell us what it is and we will do what we can to facilitate,'" Abbott wrote.

Last week, Manley issued new guidelines to officers to help clarify when police can or can't take action when they encounter a person experiencing homelessness camping in public. Manley also said he had asked city leaders to reinstate the ban.

"I agree," Abbott said.

Abbott said putting the ban back in place is not a total solution, but an important part of showing "consequential improvement" in Austin's homeless issue and the dangers to public health and safety.

Abbott ended the letter by saying he still plans to use state resources, including sending state troopers, in Austin if action is not taken by Nov. 1.

The latest letter comes a day after Abbott shared a video on twitter showing two men fighting in downtown Austin. The video begins with the men grappling on the ground at Seventh and Brazos streets before they stand up and separate. One of the men picks up a scooter and throws it through the rear window of a car that is partially on a sidewalk.

"Watch this video," his tweet said. "Is Austin's policy of allowing the homeless to do whatever they want really helping the homeless? We know it's bad for Austin."

It's unclear from the video whether either of the men involved are currently experiencing homelessness. The American-Statesman reached out to Austin police for more information about the incident on Wednesday morning, but had not received an additional details by Thursday afternoon.

The tweet received thousands of likes and retweets.

The American-Statesman reached out to Adler but did not immediately hear back for comment.

___

(c)2019 Austin American-Statesman, Texas

Visit Austin American-Statesman, Texas at www.statesman.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.