New ordinance on shopping carts in Las Cruces raises concerns of targeting the homeless

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KFOX14/CBS4) — Surveillance video released by the Las Cruces Police Department showed two men in a white pickup truck speaking with someone before taking the shopping cart away and dumping their belongings on the ground.

“Initially we were told it was Albertsons. Unknown which store so, of course, we contacted all three stores in Las Cruces. None of them had any involvement in it. Talked to the district manager. So we know that it wasn’t Albertsons,” said Las Cruces Police Chief Jeremy Story in an interview on Wednesday.

RELATED:Las Cruces police investigate wrongful shopping cart retrieval claims

The incident came to light after the Mesilla Valley Community of Hope posted about it on their Facebook page.

LCPD explained that after seeing the video they were able to pinpoint a local Albertsons as the store that reclaimed their shopping cart.

The incident came days after a shopping cart ordinance was approved by the City of Las Cruces that would criminalize taking shopping carts from stores.

“I think anytime you put forward legislation or laws or ordinances there is a potential for abuse in the future. And that was one of our hesitations in supporting an ordinance like this,” said Nicole Martinez the Executive Director of Mesilla Valley Community of Hope.

We reached out to the City of Las Cruces for more clarification on the incident and how they were working to ensure that those facing homelessness also felt protected.

A spokesperson for the City of Las Cruces simply directed us to read the Facebook post where the LCPD posted the surveillance video.

KFOX14/CBS4 told the spokesperson that some people feel that this ordinance places a target on their backs.

The spokesperson said that the police department was there to protect and serve everyone so he didn’t understand what the people meant.

“That was one of the reasons why we opposed the ordinance, that we felt like it unfairly targeted people experiencing poverty and people without homes and that they would be the most impacted and that they weren’t consulted on solutions to these issues,” said Martinez.

Martinez said she has been in constant communication with Police Chief Story to see what her nonprofit can do to help once the 60-day grace period for the ordinance expires and enforcement begins.

“We are also working with the LCPD community outreach team to make sure that after the grace period for businesses. After that’s over, we go out with them so we make sure that we are offering services and other ways for people to carry their belongings,” said Martinez.

RELATED:Homeless community fears impact of new Las Cruces shopping cart ordinance

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