Back in October, Democratic lawmakers and activists used the death of a homeless man to advocate for their progressive homelessness policies, claiming he died from the heat; in fact, he died from drug usage, some of which they may have assisted.
According to an autopsy report obtained by AZ Free News, Roosevelt White III, a 36-year-old former resident of the notorious mass homeless encampment known as “The Zone,” died in early September from complications of a left middle cerebral artery ischemic stroke. Contributory cause of death was identified as hypertensive cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, and methamphetamine intoxication. White’s fatal injury occurred when he consumed methamphetamine in the setting of underlying natural disease processes.
“In consideration of the known circumstances surrounding this death, the available medical history, and the examination of the remains, it is my opinion that the cause of death is complications of a left middle cerebral artery ischemic stroke with hypertensive cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, and methamphetamine intoxication as significant contributing conditions,” stated the autopsy report.
Nowhere in the autopsy report was heat or heat-related illness mentioned; nor was it mentioned as a contributing factor or cause of death.
Yet, multiple Democratic lawmakers told the public that White died from heatstroke. Though unclear where they obtained all of their information, it appears that their only source was a Democratic activist opposed to the cleanup of The Zone, rife with the type of drug use that ultimately took White’s life.
Among those who propagated the misinformation about White’s death were Reps. Nancy Gutierrez (D-LD18) and Analise Ortiz (D-LD24).
Gutierrez decried Republicans for denying the purported climate and housing crises plaguing the state, and said universal school choice was to blame as well. She then encouraged the public to stop voting for Republicans.
“It’s heartbreaking to hear of another heat-related death.The party in charge denies that we have a climate crisis, a housing crisis & they are giving our tax dollars to the rich for private schools,” said Gutierrez. “We must do better for the people of AZ. Your vote matters.”
It’s heartbreaking to hear of another heat related death.The party in charge denies that we have a climate crisis, a housing crisis & they are giving our tax dollars to the rich for private schools.We must do better for the people of AZ. Your vote matters. Rest in peace Roosevelt https://t.co/vTkq75hNuL
— Representative Nancy Gutierrez (@nancygforAZ) October 16, 2023
Ortiz blamed a lack of affordable housing as well, and placed blame for White’s death on the government.
“We have lost another community member to the heat and the lack of adequate shelter space and affordable housing in Phoenix. The state is failing to meet the most basic needs of our friends and neighbors,” said Ortiz.
We have lost another community member to the heat and the lack of adequate shelter space and affordable housing in Phoenix. The state is failing to meet the most basic needs of our friends and neighbors.
Stacey Champion, a public relations consultant and formerly a member of Phoenix’s Sustainability Advisory Committee and the Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona board of directors, shared the post as well.
Just heard about this. 💔 The sweetest soul & so sad I haven’t been able to be out as much this summer because of how the crushing heat has affected my own health from too many years of pushing myself in it. #HeatKills#EndHomelessnesshttps://t.co/a297olzFPe
At least one media outlet also took the progressive activists’ at their word that White died from heatstroke: AZ Family.
The viral post cited by the lawmakers and fellow activists came from Megan Kepler, a Democrat activist who volunteers with an organization that feeds the homeless, Feed Phoenix.
“We at Feed Phoenix are heartbroken at the news that our friend Roosevelt passed away in his tent due to heatstroke in the Zone. He was an amazing and talented human and volunteer with Feed Phoenix who was working to better his life, in spite of the odds against him. His death demonstrates the failure of our system to provide assistance to individuals who need our help. His heart was big. He should not have died in a tent. He was 36 years old. Rest in power Roosevelt. You deserved better from us.”
Although Kepler claimed White “died in a tent,” the autopsy record noted that White died in the hospital following multiple days filled with numerous attempts to save his life, including a thrombectomy and intubation. White was admitted on Sept. 9 and died on Sept. 12.
As part of Kepler’s activism, she helped pass out “safe use supplies”: clean syringes and naloxone, to assist the homeless in their usage of drugs, such as the meth that ultimately killed White. Rep. Ortiz helped with this effort at least once.
Today was a great day in the Zone. We served over 250 folks home cooked food, snow cones, harm reduction supplies, water and lemonade. Thank you to one of my homies from my hood #ld24@RepAnaliseOrtiz for helping out on this hot Friday💙 @FeedPhoenix#MutualAidpic.twitter.com/V5SUkdqZeG
Kepler has also engaged in activism with Black Lives Matter Phoenix Metro, Poder in Action Arizona, Desert Star Family Planning, Go With the Flow Mutual Aid, Radical Women Phoenix, Progress Arizona, Shot in the Dark Phoenix, Arizona For Abortion Access, Phoenix Womxn Rising, Mutual Aid Phoenix, and Women’s March Phoenix.
About a month before his death, White toldThe Arizona Republic that he declined shelter services during the city’s cleanup of The Zone, instead opting to relocate within the mass encampment. Per our past reporting, many of the homeless labeled as “service resistant” will turn down shelter because they can’t bring their drugs inside.
As reported in July, a majority of heat deaths in Maricopa County involved methamphetamine.
Per the autopsy report, White’s organs were taken for donation by the Donor Network of Arizona. Drug use and/or overdose doesn’t disqualify an individual from organ donation.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
In addition to being found at fault for the notorious homeless encampment in downtown Phoenix known as “The Zone,” the city of Phoenix must also pay over $221,000 in attorney’s fees and costs.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney issued the order for attorney’s fees on Monday. This latest order followed his September ruling which determined that city of Phoenix officials had not only failed to abate the public nuisance known as The Zone but had maintained it.
“The City of Phoenix shall maintain its public property in the Zone in a condition free of: (a) tents and other makeshift structures in the public rights of way; (b) biohazardous materials including human feces and urine, drug paraphernalia, and other trash; (c) individuals committing offenses against the public order. The Court will employ a reasonableness standard to future allegations of violation of (b) and/or (c). The Court does not intend this order to create a private cause of action for every non-pervasive violation of subsection (b) and/or (c). Further, the Court will require evidence of a substantive, good faith attempt to address any future violations of this order with the City before seeking court involvement.”
As reported previously, the city cleaned up The Zone several days in advance of the court-ordered deadline. This resulted in an over 82 percent success rate in admittance of the area’s homeless into shelters. The city also installed signs prohibiting encampments and other criminal activities around the area that formerly housed The Zone.
Blaney’s September ruling found the city to be at complete fault for The Zone. Blaney declared that the city had displayed an utter disregard for law-abiding citizens and tolerated crime by the homeless.
“The City’s refusal to meaningfully enforce statutes and ordinances in the Zone has created a classic siren song to certain individuals that are enticed at their peril by the Zone’s drugs, sex, and lack of societal rules.”
Additionally, Blaney found that the city intentionally stopped or materially reduced enforcement of laws in The Zone, as well as transported the homeless using taxpayer-funded “courtesy rides” from police officers and community organizations.
All in all, Blaney found unequivocally the city to blame for the increase in violent and organized crimes such as assaults and murders, drug usage and sales, public defecation and urination, rape and prostitution, and property damage and theft. City officials admitted to decriminalizing these behaviors.
A home for sale in the middle of the ‘zone’. The zone is in Phoenix Arizona and extends for several blocks. Everyone talks about the rights of the homeless. We need to balance that with the rights of all others. Homeowners and business owners also have rights and deserve better pic.twitter.com/n0VjLRJ6W5
Despite what city officials have indicated, it is unknown how many of the homeless population in Phoenix are homeless by choice. City representatives admitted that determinations of involuntary homelessness have been based on self reporting, not investigatory efforts into that individual’s case. They also admitted to being stumped by “service resistant” homeless: those who refused services like shelter because they didn’t want to adhere to any rules imposed, such as leaving behind contrabands like drugs or weapons. About 20 percent of homeless were “service resistant” according to a survey.
Despite the mass encampment cleanup, some community members have noted that homelessness persists in the area.
I just drive thru there today. Even tho they cleared the tents, it’s still hundreds of homeless in the zone area. If you are in the Phoenix area and want to help out, dm me. If you want to donate, the cashapp link is at the bottom of the flyer. Give thanks by giving back 🤲🏾📈 pic.twitter.com/GKLJpRC3dW
Arizona’s Republican legislative leaders are wading into another legal fight.
Earlier this week, Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma filed an amicus brief at the U.S. Supreme Court in City of Grants Pass v. Gloria Johnson and John Logan. According to the legislators, the case involves “three homeless individuals in Grants Pass (who) filed this lawsuit to try to stop local and state governments from combating the public safety threats, the public health dangers, and the inhumane conditions associated with these homeless encampments.”
The city has received unfavorable opinions from the federal courts at both the district and appeals (Ninth Circuit) levels, leading to the appeal to the nation’s high court.
In their brief, Petersen and Toma assert that “the Legislature also has a pressing interest in homelessness because it confronts the realities of America’s homelessness crisis every day, including only a few blocks from the state capitol complex. Phoenix, Arizona, is home to one of the nation’s largest homeless encampments, commonly known as ‘The Zone.’ With hundreds of homeless residents, The Zone is a place of intense poverty, frequent crime (including multiple homicides), social instability, and poor living standards.”
The lawmakers opined that “the Ninth Circuit decided it was better at making policy than elected state legislatures and city councils.” They argued that the opinion from the Ninth Circuit “injects the federal courts into a policymaking area reserved for state and local lawmakers, entrenches a plainly incorrect and deeply damaging construction of the Eighth Amendment, and improperly interferes with state and local policymaking on the critically important issue of homelessness.”
President Petersen issued a statement in conjunction with his announcement, saying, “We’re talking about a humanitarian crisis that continues to spiral out of control in our state, thanks to bad court rulings, judicial overreach, and a litany of vetoes by the Governor. Lives and livelihoods are lost every single day that we continue to allow homeless encampments to grow in our communities. We must have clarity from the U.S. Supreme Court in order to holistically address the systemic issues contributing to homelessness, as well as the dire public safety and public health consequences created by allowing these encampments to remain. Once again, the Attorney General is absent, but the Speaker and I are committed to engaging for the betterment of Arizona.”
Senator John Kavanagh added, “Many of the street homeless population are seriously mentally ill, drug addicted or both. It is unconscionable that these vulnerable people are being allowed to live in squalid circumstances on the street where they may abuse drugs and become crime victims. This situation is a result of federal court rulings that some say prohibit the police from enforcing street camping bans even when shelter can be provided to the homeless person. It is imperative that the Supreme Court clarify lower court rulings, so that if homeless persons are offered shelter and refuse, they can be removed from the street by the police.”
One of Arizona’s newest legislators also weighed in on the issue and filing of the brief. Senator Shawnna Bolick said, “Homelessness is one of the top issues impacting Legislative District 2, putting law enforcement and private property owners into the direct fray due to the lack of leadership at Phoenix City Hall. My constituents want safe neighborhoods, not ones littered with used needles and drug paraphernalia often left overnight for their kids to encounter on the way to the bus stop to get to school. There are quite a few civil society groups stepping up, but it’s not enough. I hope the USSC does the right thing. Government exists for public safety, and Arizona’s Governor along with the Phoenix Mayor are failing their citizens.”
The General Counsel for the Arizona House Republicans, Linley Wilson, pointed to a recent post from California Governor Gavin Newsom about the issue of federal courts inserting caselaw into “local efforts to clear street encampments,” stating, “This humanitarian crisis is not a partisan issue. The 9th Circuit’s opinions harm the homeless and the Legislature’s ability to craft effective policies.”
This humanitarian crisis is not a partisan issue. The 9th Circuit’s opinions harm the homeless and the Legislature’s ability to craft effective policies. Read the amicus brief filed today by @RepBenToma and @votewarren in SCOTUS👇🏼https://t.co/7VCv5B3MOMhttps://t.co/QyfE8C8gkd
A freshman Arizona Republican Representative scored a victory in his efforts to uphold the interests of hard-working taxpayers.
Last week, Representative Matt Gress issued a press release, announcing that “the Arizona Department of Housing won’t be enforcing a controversial – and very likely illegal – provision in its contract with the City of Scottsdale.”
✅FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE✅ State Representative @MatthewGress Announces Victory in Ongoing Fight Against Scottsdale’s Taxpayer-Funded Homeless Hotel Plan
“This is a victory for the safety and well-being of Scottsdale’s residents, many who staunchly oppose their tax dollars being… pic.twitter.com/Hn37QdHJ7h
Gress’s release explained that the “contract provision would have authorized the City to use the state funds to house homeless people from ‘the zone’ in downtown Phoenix and foreign nationals who otherwise would have been expelled under Title 42 in a hotel close to Pima and Indian Bend Roads.” The release added that “the City was previously awarded a $940,000 grant from the Department of Housing to carry out the terms of the contract,” and that “the Department has now admitted to Representative Gress that, despite the terms of the Contract, it does not intend to enforce the ‘Zone’ or the ‘Title 42’ provisions of its Contract with the City.”
In a statement accompanying his release, Gress said, “This is a victory for the safety and well-being of Scottsdale’s residents, many who staunchly oppose their tax dollars being spent to house homeless from other cities and foreign nationals who should have been deported under Title 42. I maintain serious concerns regarding the city’s intentions to utilize area hotels for this purpose and intend to pursue this matter further. Soon I will announce details of a public subcommittee hearing where I plan to delve more deeply into the problematic approach of converting hotels to housing for homeless.”
This is an important step in the right direction. We need real treatment options for unhoused individuals, not temporary shelters converted from hotel rooms.
I’ll be exploring this topic in an upcoming subcommittee hearing.
On August 3, Representative Gress transmitted a letter to Arizona Department of Housing Director Joan Serviss, expressing his concerns about “significant and unsettled questions (regarding) the validity and enforceability of the Contract” between the City of Scottsdale and the Department. Gress asserted that “nothing in state law or S.B. 1720 (what the Department derived its authority to execute the Contract under), however, authorizes the Department or the City to use state monies to provide housing for foreign nationals who entered the country after Title 42 was lifted in early May.”
The Representative warned that “if the Department enforces this unlawful provision, or if the City attempts to require the hotel to house individuals from the Zone or aliens who have been released under the federal government’s unconstitutional parole program, the City and the Department will be vulnerable to a lawsuit by a taxpayer to recover the illegal payment of public monies.”
Director Serviss responded to Gress on August 18, informing the legislator that “while we stand by the validity of the Contract, we have confirmed with the City that the shelter beds and services provided pursuant to the Contract have not and will not serve those individuals impacted by the Zone and Title 42.”
The issue of temporarily housing foreign nationals in cities around Arizona is not new to the state. In 2021, former Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich sent a letter to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Acting Director of the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, “expressing grave concerns that an ICE contractor has apparently subcontracted with the current owners of a hotel…in Scottsdale to operate a 1,200-person ICE detention facility.” Brnovich noted his disappointment with the federal government over its neglect to confer with his office before executing this contract, highlighting the “important public safety issues involved in locating any detention center in a community setting.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
The Arizona desert’s classic dry heat should now qualify as an “extreme heat,” according to Democratic lawmakers and leadership.
Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) is lobbying for more federal funding to counter the desert heat. Democrats at all levels have recharacterized summer temperatures as “extreme heat” in an attempt to pull more funding for a variety of progressive initiatives ranging from climate change to social justice. Trending usage of the word “extreme heat” has increased dramatically over the past 20 years, spiking with increased regularity every summer.
In a press release, Gallego commended President Joe Biden for increasing heat-related worker protections on Thursday. As part of the changes, Biden met with Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, the congressman’s ex-wife, and San Antonio, Texas Mayor Ron Nirenberg. Yet, those changes fell short of Rep. Gallego’s ultimate goal: he urged the Biden administration to go one step further by classifying heat as an emergency.
“Far too many people are dying or falling ill from these extreme temperatures,” said Rep. Gallego. “[M]ore must be done. We need a swift, immediate deployment of resources, and that requires FEMA declaring extreme heat as an emergency. I will continue pushing the administration and Congress to get that done.”
I'm thankful the admin is heeding our call with these meaningful steps to protect Arizonans from extreme heat. But more must be done. We need FEMA to declare extreme heat an emergency. I'll keep pushing the administration and Congress to get that done.https://t.co/kKlpEHn8Wy
Both Gallegos have worked together to lobby the federal government to declare summer heat as an emergency.
During her annual state of the city address in April, Mayor Gallego petitioned the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to qualify extreme heat as a disaster by adding the regular seasonal occurrence to its national emergency declarations categorization.
A FEMA recognition would bring in more federal funding. The city has a number of heat mitigation projects that would likely benefit from such funding, like the manufactured shade and drinking water access areas known as “cool corridors,” which are determined on an equity basis, and the special sunlight reflective streets known as “cool pavement.” (Which, as AZ Free News reported, actually makes people hotter). Those initiatives were unique creations under Mayor Gallego’s administration.
Mayor Gallego was also responsible for the creation of one of the first heat mitigation offices within city government: the Office of Heat Response and Mitigation (OHRM). The city established the office with $2.8 million in 2021, with the explicit attempt to combat urban heat: the theory that urbanization causes higher temperatures.
Presently, the OHRM doles out COVID-19 relief federal funding provided by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) for annual heat relief grants. These grants are earmarked for nonprofit, charitable, small business, and faith-based organizations existing within the city-recognized Maricopa Association of Governments Heat Relief Network that claim negative impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. OHRM will give out a maximum of $450,000 total, with each recipient receiving anywhere from $10,000 to $25,000.
A major focus of the OHRM is providing heat respite for the homeless. The latest update from OHRM, issued last summer, announced initiatives costing millions to increase the comfort of the homeless residing within the infamous mass homeless encampment known as the Zone: the creation of seven new shade structures; distribution of insulated and reusable water bottles, hats, sunscreen, personal misters, towels, ice chests with water; and 475 shelter beds for 24/7 heat respite.
The first and current OHRM director is Arizona State University (ASU) professor David Hondula, who teaches within the Global Institute of Sustainability. ASU worked with the city of Phoenix on the trial run and report ahead of the full launch of the cool pavement program.
After the mayor, Rep. Gallego introduced the Extreme Heat Emergency Act last month. Rep. Gallego said that extreme cold weather warrants federal disaster relief and contended that the same should be the case for the opposite of extreme heat.
“If you’re in Chicago and you have two weeks of extreme cold weather and snow and 400 people die, and Chicago calls the federal government, they will get money from the federal government,” said Gallego.
When it gets dangerously hot in Arizona, our leaders should have the ability to call on FEMA to deploy the necessary resources to save lives.
As AZ Free News reported this week, a majority of heat deaths in Maricopa County last year were due to meth.
Rep. Gallego also introduced similar legislation last year alongside Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12). Last year’s version, the Excess Urban Heat Mitigation Act of 2022, would establish a grant program through the Department of Housing and Urban Development. It never made it past introduction.
In this latest announcement from Biden on Thursday, the president directed the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a Hazard Alert for heat and ramp up workplace heat-safety violation enforcement, allocated $7 million in Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for weather prediction improvements, and allocated $152 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding to expand water storage and equity-based climate resilience efforts in California, Colorado, and Washington.
The Biden administration has invested over $50 billion so far to address climate issues like heat waves. They have also established a website providing information on federal funding opportunities to mitigate health risks from heat, the #SummerReady awareness campaign, established the new Office of Climate Change and Health Equity, funded 10 community groups and localities for equitable heat relief, and launched heat mapping campaigns in 154 communities across 14 states.
Earlier this month, the Biden administration announced other heat mitigation initiatives: $5 million to NOAA for two virtual research centers providing technical assistance and information to historically marginalized and underserved communities, a National Heat Strategy focused on equity and environmental justice developed by the White House Interagency Working Group (IWG) on Extreme Heat, meetings with local and tribal leadership to offer federal support for summer heat, and affordable housing opportunities using IRA and BIL funding.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
