Homeless Brawl In San Clemente, City Cracks Down On Tent Camping

SAN CLEMENTE, CA —A brawl between two of San Clemente's homeless men broke out Thursday, midday, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

"Both individuals involved in the fight were believed to be homeless," OCSD spokeswoman Carrie Braun told Patch.

The victim of the assault was taken to the hospital in unknown condition, and the suspect fled the scene and has not yet been found, according to Braun.

Deputies in the area are currently looking for the man responsible for the severe beating, she said.
A San Clemente resident and witness to the crime told the San Clemente Times that the suspect "repeatedly shouted 'Don't ever touch my girlfriend again!'" as he "delivered punches" and "stomped on the man's head."

Residents have had enough.

On the bluffs above, multi-million dollar homes look out over the Pacific. On the shore below, a squatter's tent rests on a shelf of sand. One homeless man sets out a solar panel in front of his structure.

Visitors to the area negotiate their way around homeless lean-tos, tents, and easy ups to reach their stretch of beach. A checker board is drawn on the sidewalk. Food donations and water donations are accepted from passers-by, struggling with the humanity behind the blight.

The stench of urine, excrement, blood, foul once clean sidewalks, residents told Patch. It's hard to reconcile both sides of the issue. Tents make it difficult to access handicap ramps or even enter the metro-station.

Brendan O'Neill is a San Clemente resident and father, who told the San Clemente Times that he had his fill of dealing with the lean-to structures and mini-tent city blocking the access to San Clemente's once pristine beach.

The violence and antagonistic behavior on all sides is just a symptom of the much larger problem.
"Most people don't get involved, but my kids surf down here. I think it's important these guys know they can't do anything that they want whenever they want...none of this was here a year ago, now it's out of control."

Will the ordinance fall flat?

At night, tents remain, as they have for a year.

O'Neill doesn't believe the city's ordinance to shut down the tent camping in public spaces and offer the open lot for camping will work, but anything is better than nothing at this point.

Though everyone has their own story, residents and homeless alike, and often the symptoms that end in homelessness can make confrontations quickly turn volatile.

"It is not up to individual citizens to uphold the law and enforce rules against the homeless population of the area.

"We would never encourage someone to take on the homeless, individually," she said. "This is a collaborative effort of everyone, working together to address homelessness successfully. Everyone has their own story, and we respect the constitutional rights of every individual, whether they have a home, or not."

At the 2019 point in time survey of Orange County's homeless, there were a total of 96 unsheltered homeless living in San Clemente. The majority of those polled in the survey have family in Orange County, and lived here before they started living on the streets.

At North Beach, according to Braun, the sheriff's department will speak with people currently squatting in 7 tents.

"There are also pockets of homeless around the city, small groups, that deputies will also be addressing," she said. The sheriff's department will not force individuals to relocate to the city yard. They will merely enforce the city of San Clemente's emergency ordinance calling for an end to the structure camping. There will be no tents, no assembled structures, or easy ups allowed on the beach access areas for living purposes.

The only place the homeless can legally set up their tents, as of Friday, May 24, will be the city yard.

"Deputies will tell the people in those structures if you want to have a tent up, move it to the location," Braun said.

City public works, health care outreach and enforcement teams will be on hand to address the individuals themselves, offer individual services.

"Hopefully, they will accept," she said. "If they don't take down their tents, they are in violation, and they need to dismantle them immediately."