WHEELING — The deadline for homeless encampments to be removed from public properties in Wheeling was pushed back two weeks just hours before city officials were prepared to enforce the order Friday afternoon.

The decision came after the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia vowed to take legal action against the city of Wheeling for its plan to remove homeless encampments today.

Notices were placed at homeless encampments along the banks of Wheeling Creek this week to inform people living there that they had until 5 p.m. today to vacate the property. The notices provided information for resources through Project HOPE, the Homeless Coalition and other community outreach programs to assist the homeless.

Wheeling Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger said he initiated the action to have these encampments cleared, noting that this measure was “all about crime.”

There have been nearly 250 calls for service to the police department since spring regarding criminal activity and incidents stemming from activity of individuals residing at certain homeless encampments in the city, the chief noted.

“It’s unfortunate that we have this issue, but nonetheless, what are we supposed to do?” Schwertfeger asked. “I can’t find an alternative to allow that to continue.”

On Thursday, the ACLU-WV and attorneys Patrick Cassidy and Timothy F. Cogan of the law firm Cassidy, Cogan, Shapell and Voegelin announced they planned to file a lawsuit in an effort to stop the city from destroying homeless encampments and displacing people who have been living at those sites.

ACLU officials maintained that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explicitly states that homeless encampments are not to be destroyed during the COVID-19 pandemic because doing so will displace people into communities and increase the likelihood of community spread.

“Destroying what little shelter these community members have does nothing to solve the crisis of homelessness in our communities,” said Loree Stark, legal director for ACLU-WV. “In fact, it greatly exacerbates the problem.”

According to the complaint, the city has offered no alternative housing solutions to the people it intends to displace.

“To do this during a global pandemic when so many people have lost their livelihoods and homes is not only cruel, but also unlawful,” Cassidy said. “Why are we targeting the homeless when fellow citizens are dying from the coronavirus? Wheeling, we can be better than this.”

City Manager Robert Herron said the deadline was delayed until Sept. 18 after city officials previously announced plans to remove multiple encampments along the banks of Wheeling Creek no later than 5 p.m. Friday.

Herron declined to comment on the reasons for the delay, citing the pending litigation, and referred questions to city Solicitor Rosemary Humway-Warmuth. She said city officials began talking with representatives from the ACLU-WV late Thursday and agreed to the delay to allow both sides to hold further discussions about what to do about the encampments that city police said have been a haven for crime.

A similar action was taken by the city in April, when a homeless encampment along the creek was removed after the city received several criminal complaints that were traced back to inhabitants of the camp. At that time as the COVID-19 pandemic was unfolding and people across the country were sheltering in-place, the ACLU demanded the city cease its plans to dismantle the encampment without having established alternative housing for the people who were living there.

The city responded by stating officials were reviewing the ACLU’s concerns, noting that the city was sensitive to the needs of the homeless, but stressing that criminal activity would not be tolerated. There were 239 calls to service logged by the Wheeling Police Department for incidents in the area that were traced back to the encampment.

According to a statement released Thursday by the ACLU-WV, the city had removed at least one camp in April but then “backed off of plans to destroy more” after the ACLU-WV threatened legal action.

Schwertfeger said the homeless encampments currently in question are intertwined along the banks of Wheeling Creek. There are encampments on each side of the creek under the Chapline Street Bridge, the chief explained. There is a large camp behind the 19th Street lot of West Virginia Northern Community College, one under the Market Street Bridge and one under the ramps of W.Va. 2 on the south side of the creek.

Schwertfeger said he initiated the action on behalf of the city to remove people from these problem areas. Since they are along the banks of Wheeling Creek, the property is actually owned by the state of West Virginia.

“The Wheeling Police Department cares for all citizens,” he said. “We’re not targeting homeless people, but you’ve got to do something when — since this past spring — you’re faced with five assault and batteries, seven domestic violence incidents, multiple property crimes, nine fugitive arrests, 15 documented overdoses — several of which were overdose deaths, two or three fairly large fires, sexual assaults and indecent exposures.

The police chief said he sought approval from the city manager’s office to take the data gathered on these crimes and address them with the property owner, which in this case is the West Virginia Division of Highways. Schwertfeger indicated that the police department has determined these locations to be high-crime areas that created a public safety issue. He asked state officials if they would agree to close these areas to the public in light of this, and they agreed. Notices were posted on their behalf earlier this week on Tuesday, the chief said.

This spring, there had been reports not only of rampant crime at homeless encampments, but also of locations along paths in and out of the camps that had been booby trapped. More recently, the sites have been strewn with discarded hypodermic needles among other items that are cause for concern of the safety of anyone traversing into those sites — from police officers to firefighters, human service workers or even people living there, according to the chief.

“I’m extremely concerned for the residents that are staying there,” Schwertfeger said. “It’s important to note that we didn’t take this action at all of the camps — there are several other camps in the city. It’s not like we’re targeting homeless folks. If there’s an encampment that can be well kept and doesn’t involve crime, it’s a different story. This is all about crime.”

Schwertfeger said people would be outraged if the same level of criminal activity was occurring in an apartment complex or residence.

“I cannot sit by and do nothing about it,” he said. “I have a duty to the offices, I have a duty to the residents who are staying there to fix this and make it safer. What about the victims? It’s affected Centre Wheeling and parts of the downtown. There are victims in a lot of these property crimes. They are things that happen outside of the camps, but are related to the camps. Who is advocating for them? Well, I think that’s my job, and I’m happy to do that.”

The chief said he was hesitant out of sensitivity to the victim’s family to mention one particularly disturbing incident, but he felt it was important to put the reality of the situation into perspective.

“We responded to a death investigation at one of those camps that were posted,” the chief said. “A young lady was dead in a tent. This was in the heat of late May. That young lady had been in that tent for three to four days. There were at least 14 other people in that encampment, and only one person finally called us. The only thing the residents did was spray the perfume or deodorizer on the tent to mask the odor from the body of that poor woman.

“If you want to talk about public health, let’s talk about that,” the chief said, stating that he was aware of the notice issued by the ACLU that they were attempting to stop efforts to clear the encampments. “That is unacceptable in the city of Wheeling.”