Sheriff defends officers in actions against homeless

Matt Pordum

Monday, May 1, 2006 | 7:24 a.m.

Clark County Sheriff Bill Young is within weeks of hiring a social worker to serve as his liaison to the homeless - a move that, from Bernadette Jacaruso's perspective, might be a few months late.

Jacaruso, 46, was arrested Sept. 16 when Metro Police officers approached her on suspicion that she was drinking in public. According to the police report, she grew belligerent and was arrested for disturbing the peace.

She and her defense attorney contend that she's the victim of police harassment because she is homeless.

She is scheduled to stand trial June 14 in Municipal Court.

"I'm fighting not just for me but for all the homeless in this city being harassed," Jacaruso said last week.

The sheriff bristled at the notion that his officers arrested the woman simply because she was homeless.

"I don't mean to be flippant about this, but we have better things to do than arrest the homeless," Young said. "I want to catch bad guys, the really serious, hard-core criminals out there. That's why I took this job. What we don't want to do is waste time arresting the homeless."

Metro's nationally acclaimed Homeless Help Team is evidence of his department's desire to help those without shelter, he said.

Hiring a liaison to further assist his department with issues involving homelessness will further promote relations between homeless people and police, he said.

"I envision us having a better relationship with the homeless community through this position - and, in the process, we hope to learn more about their issues. Hopefully this liaison will help the homeless and their advocates learn where we are coming from."