The city of San Francisco has filed suit against 28 alleged drug dealers for openly distributing narcotics in the Tenderloin neighborhood, The Associated Press reported.
The mayor and other city officials have said the area included in the lawsuit is a frequent site of public drug use.
"You see people who are pushing strollers, mothers who have to go out onto the streets and go around the drug dealing, and the drug using," Democrat Mayor London Breed said. "San Francisco has become the place to go to sell drugs, it is known widely, and that has got to stop."
The lawsuits could prohibit the defendants from entering the 50-block radius of the Tenderloin and the nearby South of Market neighborhood. Violators could ring up $6,000 fines, arrests on misdemeanor charges, and seizures of property.
"These lawsuits won't solve the problems themselves, but they are a step worth taking," San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera said.
He said more drug and mental health treatment are necessary to help deal with this problem.
"But these injunctions will give law enforcement one more tool to help keep Tenderloin residents safe," Herrera said.
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