Overview

• A homeless pregnant woman in Louisville was cited by police for unlawful camping while claiming she was in labor under an overpass in September 2024.
• The woman, who did not have a phone, told officers her water had broken and her husband was trying to call for an ambulance; the officers eventually called EMS themselves.
• Body camera footage captured an officer expressing doubt about the woman’s labor claim, though she gave birth later that day and is now in a shelter with her child.
• The citation was issued under Kentucky's new anti-camping law, which criminalizes sleeping or camping on public property and has faced criticism from homelessness advocates.
• Advocates argue that such laws exacerbate homelessness by penalizing unhoused individuals instead of addressing systemic causes like lack of affordable housing.