Bedridden man says he was wrongfully evicted
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ST. LOUIS (KMOV) — South St. Louis City resident Gary Chaffin says he was shocked this week when officers with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD) showed up to his home to evict him.
“I didn’t think the police evicted people,” Chaffin said. He said on Wednesday, officers pulled up to his home on Pennsylvania Avenue and said he had to go. Neighbors told us they saw police ordering Chaffin to gather his belongings and leave.
Chaffin is bedridden and living with bone cancer. He said he was expecting to get evicted, but not until the eviction moratorium is lifted on April 5. He admits he stopped paying his rent after he says his landlord didn’t keep up with repairs that were needed to the property.
He says he’s also confused as to why it was SLMPD was telling him to get out and not the St. Louis City Sheriff’s Office, who legally enforces evictions by court order. We looked into why SLMPD allegedly told Chaffin he had to leave and a spokesperson denied that their officers evicted Chaffin.
The department said the officers were responding to a disturbance call, from there police say they spoke to Chaffin but did not take a report and left because the eviction issue is a civil matter.
The landlord said he made Chaffin move because the property was condemned. There were no condemned signs on the home when News 4 crews went to check. The Sheriff’s Office says they are now looking into why Chaffin was told to move before the moratorium was lifted.
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