A homeless man in Pacific Beach has filed a federal lawsuit against the city of San Diego and one of its police officers, accusing officials of targeting him for arrest because he is black and has no fixed address.

Zack Green, 68, who has been living on the street for more than 25 years and is well-known to police and residents, said his most recent arrest came over Labor Day weekend, when he was locked up for three-plus days on a charge of encroachment.

The citation, an infraction, alleged Green’s possessions were blocking a sidewalk.


“They are just shaking me down,” Green said in a telephone interview Monday. “You get in their crosshairs, they come after you kind of strong.”

Neither the police department nor the City Attorney’s Office responded to a request for comment on Monday.

Green filed a claim against the city late last year, accusing the department of targeting homeless people and locking them up for days at a time, often without filing criminal charges. He also said police failed to return his dentures and Samsung cell phone once he was released from custody.

Police officials told The San Diego Union-Tribune in February that they treat all citizens the same whether they are homeless or not.


“If you’re a homeless person and you’ve got the right to walk around downtown, the police department is not going to contact you until one, you’ve broken the law and two, we get a call about your behavior,” Capt. Charles Kaye said at the time.

City officials rejected Green’s claim early this year. Green filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court last month.

“This (harassment) was an official policy adopted by San Diego because the decision-makers believe that transients and blacks bring down property values, are concerned in maintaining the affluence of the beach area and with appeasing a socio-economically affluent voting block,” the lawsuit states.

The complaint seeks $1 million in damages.