Land Park murder should not change how Sacramento responds to the homelessness crisis

The Sacramento community is in mourning.

Many are searching for answers, shocked by last week’s senseless murder of a 61-year-old Land Park woman, Kate Tibbitts, and her two elderly golden retrievers, Molly and Ginny.

The primary suspect is Troy Davis, a 51-year-old homeless parolee with two felony strike convictions. Davis was arrested last weekend and appeared in court on Tuesday, where he was criminally charged. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.

The unspeakable details of this crime are hard to absorb. It allegedly included burglary, sexual assault and arson. According to police, Tibbitts and Davis did not know each other.

Her death has also sparked a debate over criminal justice reforms and zero bail policies that have historically harmed communities of color most. Sacramento County sheriff’s officials released Davis from the downtown jail in June before he was arraigned for an auto theft charge. He skipped his court date after he was freed, and even though a warrant was issued, he wasn’t arrested until last weekend.

The repercussions of this murder will be felt around the state, and add kindling to policy battles over zero bail and the criteria for early release.

As this case unfolds, it’s important for Sacramento residents to recognize two distinct ideas: the unhoused are not a monolithic community, and we cannot let this heinous crime deter us from the important work ahead to address the homelessness crisis.

Many Sacramento residents are understandably on edge right now. What occurred in Land Park was the ultimate nightmare scenario, and to say it was an aberration would be naïve. There are dangerous elements within the homeless community, spurred by poverty, drug use and mental health challenges. The recently incarcerated are present in many encampments.

We cannot ignore that truth.

But much of the unhoused population is not inherently bad or dangerous. Some are abandoned or people struggling to find their way. Some are unable to recover from hardship. Their own unique and individual struggles are often shaped by the very same forces — poverty, drug use and mental health challenges. That does not mean they are not worth helping, and it’s imperative that cities and counties like Sacramento continue to find shelter and invest in rehabilitation services.

Barely a month ago, the Sacramento City Council unanimously approved a $100 million comprehensive plan to open at least 20 safe ground shelter sites across the city. The only way this humanitarian experiment is successful is if the public remembers our shared interest in addressing the root causes of homelessness in order to make our streets safer.

That means Sacramento residents must continue to back this ambitious undertaking to help provide shelter and support services for the unhoused. When fully implemented, city officials estimate that over 9,000 people could be helped annually.

What happened to Tibbitts was a tragedy. It represents a failure of California’s political and criminal justice systems to keep people who pose a clear threat to the public behind bars. There must be accountability, and city and state leaders must aggressively pursue the necessary reforms to ensure this does not happen again.

But Sacramento cannot let this case further stigmatize or change how we view the unhoused community. We should want justice for Tibbitts, and also remain steadfast in our desire to humanely address the homelessness crisis.

Tibbitts was rooted in her Catholic faith and strongly believed in helping others, according to her family. She was a 25-year volunteer for Sacramento SPCA and was “heavily involved in charities that made sure that Christmas joy and gifts found their way to families in need,” her siblings wrote in a statement this week.

Sacramento should learn from the way Tibbitts lived, and follow her example as we try to make sense of this horrific crime.

This story was originally published September 10, 2021 at 5:00 AM.