Lawyer Michael Fuller used Apple’s AirTag trackers to track the location of belongings that were seized from homeless people and illegally thrown away.
Tracking With AirTag
Mr. Fuller attached an AirTag to 16 personal items with permission ahead of a sweep of Laurelhurst Park by city contractor Rapid Response Bio Clean. The tracking devices show that these items were illegally discarded during the clean up.
Under Oregon law, Portland is required to collect and retain all property that is “recognizable as belonging to a person and that has apparent use” when cleaning up homeless encampments, according to OPB. The confiscated material is stored in a warehouse for 30 days, unless such items are unsanitary or have no obvious use.
If the city of Portland can’t explain why these items were trashed, Mr. Fuller’s client will seek monetary compensation for their losses. “I practically begged the city not to move forward with the sweep to make sure property wasn’t being destroyed, and the city ignored me. Now there’s going to be legal consequences.”