SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES
Who is really behind Seattle’s Steven Long truck case?
Mar 8, 2018, 1:36 PM
Steven Long lives in his truck in Seattle. A judge recently ruled that his truck is a home after police towed it. (Hanna Scott, KIRO Radio)
(Hanna Scott, KIRO Radio)
Today an update on the saga of Steven Long, the man living in his truck who won a lawsuit against the City of Seattle. The initial victory for Long had three important parts.
- One: His truck is now classified as a home.
- Two: The police cannot have his home towed.
- Three: The fees associated with the impound were excessive and unconstitutional.
Earlier in the week, I urged the city to appeal this ruling. Today we learned they will do just that.
RELATED: History of the man living in this truck/home in Seattle
I got quite a response from my first take on this story. Like this comment from John on Twitter: “In stating this simple point, the author (that’s me) goes to great lengths to prove himself a $#*& with little compassion for other humans.”
Or this one from Daniel: “As opposed to what alternative? Repossessing the car and having people sleep on a street curb? If someone has no safe place to go and sleep but their truck, is it not immoral to tell them they cannot do that.”
So as a point of fact, I never said that someone could not sleep in their truck. Clearly, that happens all the time. But the thing that was completely different about this ruling was the brazen assertion that you could park that truck virtually anywhere with total impunity.
A Steven Long story
We also learned through some fantastic reporting by KIRO Radio’s Hannah Scott that Steven Long has a colorful past. It includes barroom brawls, an arrest, and probation for a sex offense in another state after a Black Sabbath concert.
Now the city will appeal saying that this ruling is “legally wrong and unworkable.” I agree with that.
One other question that I have: how does a guy living in his truck, who told Dori Monson that a $290 a month apartment was too expensive afford multiple lawyers?
His team of lawyers included Jim Lobsenz, a partner at a very expensive downtown firm. From their website, Jim’s “substantive areas of experience are constitutional law, freedom of speech, police misconduct, civil rights, criminal defense law, employment law and evidence.”
RELATED: Seattle ready to appeal ruling on truck/home
This is the type of firm that charges more per hour than Steven once paid in rent.
It all just makes me wonder if there is a bigger game afoot and Steven Long might just be a pawn in all this?
Just saying.
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