AG secures consent decree with Sunnyside over unlawful eviction orders

Sunnyside residents harmed when Sunnyside Police Department officers ordered them to leave or be removed from their homes will finally receive compensation under a consent decree reached Monday between the city and the Attorney General's Office.

The consent decree requires the city to pay $1.1 million, which will be used to compensate Sunnyside residents impacted by the Sunnyside Police Department's enforcement of the city's so-called Crime Free Rental Housing Program. It was under the guise of that program that Sunnyside police officers ordered residents to leave or be removed from their homes without proper notice or the opportunity to defend themselves in court, in violation of their rights to due process under the state and federal constitutions.

As a result of this police misconduct, many of these families became homeless, were separated from their children, or faced long periods of housing instability that caused severe, life-destabilizing harm. Most of the families affected were Latina/o, women-headed households, or families with children.

After years of resistance and litigation, the city also agreed to implement training and policies for the Sunnyside Police Department that will ensure future residents are not harmed by these unlawful police practices.

The state's lawsuit, filed in February 2020 against Sunnyside and multiple individual police officers, was set to go to trial this week. The consent decree instead resolves the case before trial, providing certainty and closure to the impacted residents and ensuring the city must make changes to prevent this type of unlawful conduct by police officers in the future.

"This resolution will let us provide prompt and meaningful compensation to Sunnyside residents who were ordered to leave or be removed from their homes for no lawful reason," Attorney General Nick Brown said. "The government denied these people due process and protection from discrimination. I'm proud of my team's work on the residents' behalf."

In addition to compensating impacted residents, the City of Sunnyside, including the Sunnyside Police Department, is subject to other requirements under the consent decree.

• The city, including the Sunnyside Police Department, is permanently enjoined from unlawfully removing residents from their homes and from implementing or utilizing any program similar to the Crime Free Rental Housing Program in the future; implementing discriminatory policies, procedures, or practices that violate the Fair Housing Act or the Washington Law Against Discrimination; or interfering with or retaliating against individuals who exercise their rights under federal or state law.
• The city must implement a policy, approved by the Attorney General's Office, that prohibits Sunnyside Police Department officers and employees from unlawfully removing residents from their homes or retaliating against residents for enforcing their rights to housing free from discrimination.
• For three years, the city must provide annual training by a third-party provider approved by the Attorney General's Office to all Sunnyside Police Department officials and employees to educate them on their legal responsibilities and tenants' right to due process under the state and federal constitutions, including how to recognize and avoid any involvement in unlawfully removing residents from their homes.
• For three years, the city must also provide annual compliance reports to the Attorney General's Office regarding fulfillment of the training obligations and any complaints against the Sunnyside Police Department or the city related to unlawfully removing residents from their homes.

The consent decree, entered in Yakima County Superior Court, resolves more than five years of efforts in court by the Attorney General's Office to get justice for Sunnyside residents. The state for years urged the city to bring its program into compliance with state and federal law before eventually filing suit in February 2020. In 2024, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled that the attorney general could bring this lawsuit and has broad authority to pursue legal action to protect the civil and constitutional rights of Washingtonians.

In that decision, the state Supreme Court confirmed that "the State has an interest in protecting the health, safety, and well-being of its residents, including holding government actors accountable against allegations of discrimination and violations of constitutional rights."

The AGO's Wing Luke Civil Rights Division investigated, brought, and prosecuted this case including Assistant Attorneys General Neal Luna, Alyson Dimmitt Gnam, and Diane Lopez; Investigators Alma Poletti and Jennifer Treppa; Paralegal Anna Alfonso; and retired Assistant Attorney General Mitch Riese.

Read the consent decree here.