City of Tucson sued and found liable for risks associated with Midtown homeless encampment

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Every time Allison Bradford comes back to the Hedrick Acres neighborhood, she thinks back to her time living there for 27 years. She recently moved about two months ago after homeless people took over the Navajo Wash near her house.

“My home was no longer my sanctuary. I had no sense of security anymore,” Bradford said. “I was heartbroken to sell my house. I loved my house.”

Since about 2019, she said homeless encampments in the wash made her feel unsafe.

“I was coming home to addicts in my carport, picking up fentanyl foils, and syringes behind my truck,” she said.

While there aren’t encampments in the wash right now, Adrian Wurr, who lives in the neighborhood, said they come and go. At one point he said there used to be about 12 encampments with about 20 people.

“Our largest fire… the flames were as tall as the building,” Wurr said, pointing to an apartment building.

Court documents also said he was assaulted by a homeless person.

“He didn’t want to leave and so I said "it’s not a campground," and he got aggressive and punched me in the face,” Wurr said.

Bradford and Wurr sued the City of Tucson in 2023. Court documents said they argued the encampments created a nuisance and the city was liable. The city argued they were immune from liability.

A lower court sided with the city, saying the city took enough action with the encampments and they were not liable.

“It’s not fair that anyone should have to incur attorney’s fees in order to make the government do its job,” Bradford said.

However, last week the appeals court found the city is responsible for risks like trash, feces, fires, and drug paraphernalia.

“At the very least, it should give us a little more clarity on how this area will be managed,” Wurr said.

KGUN 9 reached out to the City of Tucson but they said they are not commenting because the city attorney is looking over the decision. At an executive session on June 17, the city attorney told KGUN 9 he’s going to be talking to the mayor and city council about the ruling.

“I really hope other neighborhoods will step up and do the same,” Bradford said.

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Andrew Christiansen is a reporter for KGUN 9. Before joining the team, Andrew reported in Corpus Christi, Texas for KRIS6 News, Action 10 News and guest reported in Spanish for Telemundo Corpus Christi. Share your story ideas with Andrew by emailing andrew.christiansen@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, or Twitter.