Sunnyside residents harmed when Sunnyside Police Department officers ordered them to leave or be removed from their homes will finally receive compensation under a consent decree reached Monday between the city and the Attorney General’s Office. 

The consent decree requires the city to pay $1.1 million, which will be used to compensate Sunnyside residents impacted by the Sunnyside Police Department’s enforcement of the city’s so-called Crime Free Rental Housing Program. It was under the guise of that program that Sunnyside police officers ordered residents to leave or be removed from their homes without proper notice or the opportunity to defend themselves in court, in violation of their rights to due process under the state and federal constitutions. 

“This resolution will let us provide prompt and meaningful compensation to Sunnyside residents who were ordered to leave or be removed from their homes for no lawful reason. The government denied these people due process and protection from discrimination. I’m proud of my team’s work on the residents’ behalf.” – AG Brown