December 19, 2024
Shocking bodycam footage shows police giving a woman in active childbirth a citation for being homeless.
Louisville, Kentucky – Today, shocking and shameful body camera footage was released showing a Louisville Metro Police officer issuing a citation to a homeless woman who was in active labor. In the video, the woman explains that she was sleeping outside because her RV was impounded. Despite her pleas for help, the police officer did not believe that the woman was in labor. Later that day, the woman gave birth to a healthy child in a local hospital. This footage, obtained by Kentucky Public Radio reporter Sylvia Goodman, highlights the abject cruelty behind the growing trend of using tickets, handcuffs, and jail cells to respond to the housing and homelessness crises.
“When this mom had a medical emergency, instead of providing aid, the person in a position to help her gave her a ticket for being homeless,” said Jesse Rabinowitz of the National Homelessness Law Center. “This video highlights both the absurdity and cruelty of anti-camping laws in KY and those cropping up nationwide. This is an extreme incident, but unfortunately, it is not an isolated one. Instead of addressing the cause of homelessness – the fact that more and more people struggle to afford rent – politicians are passing laws that kick people when they are down and make homelessness worse. The solution to homelessness is housing and help, not tickets or fines. We must put this in the context of the growing, backward push to demonize and arrest homeless people. Since the Grants Pass ruling, nearly 150 cities have passed anti-camping bills. Elected officials are celebrating the person who murdered Jordan Neely, a homeless New Yorker. And Donald Trump and his billionaire cronies want to round up homeless people and put them in detention camps. All of these things make homelessness worse.”
“The disregard and disrespect of these two lives is the direct result of the so-called ‘Safer Kentucky Act’ that was enacted this year,” said Shameka Parrish-Wright, Director of VOCAL-KY. “People experiencing homelessness are fighting for their lives across the country and right here in Louisville. Investing in immediate, affordable housing and healthcare is the only way to stop this from happening again – not by handing out more tickets that won’t house a single person. Shame on the politicians who paved the way for this tragedy.”
“Nobody wants to sleep outside, but there just is not enough housing that people can afford, in Kentucky or anywhere in the country. Somebody earning minimum wage must work 94 hours a week to afford a modest 1-bedroom apartment in Kentucky. If politicians actually cared about homeless Kentuckians, they would focus on getting them the housing and support they need,” Parrish-Wright continued.
“Everybody, regardless of where they live or what they look like, deserves access to safe housing and high-quality, comprehensive medical care. In this example, Kentucky failed in both regards. This woman didn’t live outside because she wanted to; she lived outside because there was nowhere else for her to go because housing is simply too expensive. As a doctor, I know that housing is the best prescription for health somebody can get. Conversely, criminalizing being unhoused and using a police first, housing last approach does nothing to promote health and wellbeing. This horrific incident must compel Kentucky leaders to reject attempts to solve homelessness with arrest and tickets and instead propel them to fund the housing and healthcare services we all need,” said Devora Keller, MD, MPH, of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council.
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About the National Homelessness Law Center
The National Homelessness Law Center is committed to protecting the rights of unhoused people across the United States and to advocating for policies that prevent and end homelessness, ensuring that all people have access to safe and adequate housing.
About VOCAL-KY
VOCAL-KY builds power among low-income people affected by HIV/AIDS, the drug war, mass incarceration, and homelessness in order to create healthy and just communities. We accomplish this through community organizing, leadership development, advocacy, direct services, participatory research and direct action.
About the National Health Care for the Homeless Council (NHCHC)
The National Health Care for the Homeless Council (NHCHC) is the premier national organization working at the nexus of homelessness and health care. Grounded in human rights and social justice, the Council’s mission is to build an equitable, high-quality health care system through training, research, and advocacy in the movement to end homelessness. Learn more at nhchc.org.
