The official cause of death for August Bucki, a homeless man whose death earlier this year stoked debate over Florida’s anti-camping laws, has now been confirmed as hypothermia. The ruling, released this week by the District 1 Medical Examiner’s Office, adds new clarity to a case that has become a flashpoint in local discussions about homelessness and public policy.
Support Local Stories. Support Public Media.
Bucki, 41, was wheelchair-bound and a familiar figure in Pensacola’s arts and music scene. He died on Feb. 21 after spending the night in near-freezing temperatures outside the Alfred Washburn Center, a homeless outreach facility that offers meals, showers, and mail service but no beds. His death came just two days after county code enforcement officers and sheriff’s deputies cleared a nearby encampment where Bucki and others had been staying.
The Medical Examiner’s report, which took more than three months to be released following a public records request, ruled Bucki’s death an accident caused by hypothermia due to environmental exposure. His core body temperature was recorded at 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Toxicology tests detected low levels of methamphetamine and its metabolite in his system, but the report makes clear that hypothermia, not drug intoxication or underlying health issues, was the direct cause of death.
Florida’s anti-camping law, passed by the state legislature last year, prohibits people from sleeping on public land unless local governments provide sanctioned encampments that meet specific state-mandated criteria. In practice, few sanctioned alternatives have been created, leaving local officials to enforce the ban through ordinances that dismantle informal homeless camps. In Escambia County, officials enacted their own ordinance and began clearing camps, including the one near the Washburn Center where Bucki had been staying.
Advocates and friends of Bucki had long suspected exposure to the cold was the primary cause of his death. Now, the Medical Examiner’s findings confirm that suspicion.
Michael Kimberl, the director of the Washburn Center, spoke to WUWF earlier this year following Bucki’s death. At the time, the Medical Examiner’s report had not yet been released.
“If you want to pass these ordinances saying that people can't be somewhere, you need to provide an alternative of where they can be,” Kimberl said. “And that's what we haven't seen. There's a lot of ‘you can't be here, you can't do this.’ But where can they go? If you push them off public land, they end up on private land, and that’s an arrestable offense. Once again, we're funneling our poor into our jail system, which is probably the most expensive way of dealing with this issue.”
On Feb. 19, two days before Bucki’s death, county code enforcement and deputies arrived to clear an encampment outside the Washburn Center. Witnesses described a chaotic scene in which some disabled individuals struggled to move their belongings fast enough. Kimberl said that Bucki’s possessions were among those removed that day.
“Not everyone got their belongings. Not everyone was there,” he recalled. “A couple of people were handicapped and just didn’t move fast enough. I saw at least three tents, a couple of lean-tos made with tarps, and a bunch of blankets thrown into a truck and taken away.”
In the absence of shelter, Bucki attempted to stay near the Washburn Center, believing it to be a safer place due to its security cameras and supportive services. The night he died, others nearby recalled seeing him seated in his wheelchair across the street. Witnesses said he fell from his chair onto the ground and became unresponsive. Emergency services were called, but he was later pronounced dead.
Chief Deputy Andrew Hobbs of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office also spoke to WUWF earlier this year, before the Medical Examiner’s findings were released.
“We can be compassionate,” Hobbs said. “We can help. We can try to get them in contact with nonprofits, which there are a lot of in Escambia County that are trying to help people, but if they don't want it, we can't force them to take that help.”
Arin Wing, a longtime friend who organized a vigil in Bucki’s memory, reflected on his life and the choices that left him vulnerable.
“(Bucki) did some regrettable things, but he always returned with a conscience,” Wing said. “When we were younger, we used to go downtown and hang out with the homeless, asking them what got them into their situation and try to help them figure a way out. We found after speaking to each one of them that there was such a vast array of circumstances far beyond that person's control and capacity to get out of, even with our willingness to help. It was never as simple as what it seemed from the outside looking in, and unfortunately, he landed himself with his own complicated list of reasons. But those reasons didn’t have to lead to his death.”
