The Denver Police Department isn’t enforcing the city’s urban camping ban after a judge ruled the ordinance unconstitutional last week, a police spokesperson told The Denver Post on Monday.

Denver County Judge Johnny C. Barajas dismissed a ticket Friday that had been issued to Jerry Burton earlier this year for violating the camping ban. In his decision, Barajas said the ban amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.

Earlier Friday, Denver police performed four street checks for unauthorized camping, spokesperson Doug Schepman said. But officers stopped doing the checks after learning of the ruling, “pending further guidance” from the city attorney’s office. That office is “exploring our options and next steps,” spokesperson Ryan Luby said in a statement Monday afternoon.

The city appealed the case Monday morning in a filing that argues Barajas’ ruling was wrong because it didn’t consider any instance where enforcing the ban would be considered constitutional.

Suspending enforcement was the right call, if a bit confusing when paired with the appeal, said Cathy Alderman, vice president of communications and public policy for the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.

“Just moving people around and ticketing them and punishing them for not being housed has certainly not done anything to alleviate homelessness in Denver, Alderman said.

She encouraged city officials to be as transparent as possible with their next steps and to partner with stakeholders to help the homeless. The police have a role to play in the solution, Alderman said. Certainly there are times where officers are needed to keep the peace, though they shouldn’t be used to punish anyone for living without a home, she said.

“This is a really critical time of the year for this to be happening,” she said. “This is really the time where we need to be reaching out and providing as much support to people as possible.”

The case is sure to be watched closely by local and national organizations who advocate for those experiencing homelessness, said Tristia Bauman, a senior attorney with the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty. The ruling is a positive example of courts preventing a city from punishing the homeless at a high cost to taxpayers and with few, if any, benefits, she said.

The city’s appeal means the case now heads to District Court, which is the wrong move, said Andy McNulty, Burton’s attorney. He wants the city to repeal the ban — a move that voters declined to make in May.

“Given that a judge has found that Denver is cruelly and unusually punishing its own citizens, Mayor Hancock should take action to stop that punishment instead of fighting for the right to continue the cruelty,” McNulty said.

Theresa Marchetta, spokesperson for Mayor Michael Hancock’s office, said Denver’s approach to assisting the homeless “is to address their needs indoors in a dignified and compassionate fashion.” The approach, she said, is supported by the public.

“We do not believe outdoor encampments are healthy or safe, and the Unauthorized Camping Ordinance has proven to be an effective tool to connect people with services, including overnight shelter, of which there are typically a couple hundred vacant beds each night,” Marchetta said.

But Bauman and others have noted that some shelters remain inaccessible to some people without housing for a variety of reasons.

She said the appeal will likely be influenced by a decision from the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which struck down a camping ban in Boise, Idaho, last year.

Earlier this month the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review that ruling, upholding the decision of the San Francisco-based court.

While the Ninth Circuit decision didn’t directly affect Denver, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Tenth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, it could provide backing arguments to carry the case to higher courts, Bauman said.