Burien prepares to sweep homeless encampment downtown

At midnight on Thursday, the City of Burien plans to sweep a homeless encampment that has been growing downtown for weeks.

BURIEN, Wash. - The City of Burien is planning Thursday night to sweep a homeless encampment that has been growing downtown for weeks.

However, the city will not have its police force to assist in the sweep.

King County contracts with the City of Burien, staffing the police department with its deputies. In a letter sent to the city, King County said it will not allow its deputies to take part in the sweep because it is illegal.

On Tuesday night, Burien City Council met to discuss the situation, but made no decisions, which left many confused on Wednesday.

"Burien police and sheriffs aren’t going to be out here to enforce this stuff. Who knows if they’ll have the same integrity," said Michael Collins, a man living in the encampment. "They’ll have a security team to clear us out of here, who knows what could happen tonight."

Volunteers worked to find shelter for people being displaced.

Chris Wee tells FOX 13 News he has been helping the people at the encampment for weeks, building relationships with them, so they are more inclined to accept help.

"We should be upset as a community because these people are at this stage. So, this is a means to an end, and so we just got to respond in a way that’s meaningful," said Wee.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: King County Executive accuses city of Burien of 'lease scheme' to evict people from homeless encampment

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FOX 13 News reached out to the Burien city manager to see what the plan is to move these people without police enforcement. He did not respond.