Homeless church deacon loses 'tiny house' donated by friend after cops arrest him

San Diego police are investigating the arrest of a local homeless man less than a week after he began using a "tiny house" donated to him, KGTV-TV reported.

"They said, 'Well, we are going to give him two hours to move it,'" said Anthony Brown, who witnessed the arrest of Michael Clark on Tuesday morning. "Five minutes later there was a tow truck here and they took the house away."

According to Brown, officers immediately handcuffed Clark, rather than issue him a ticket.

Clark had only received the small structure on Saturday following the efforts of a local woman, Lisa Kogan, and her friends. He was arrested while sleeping in it across the street from a local church, the International Love Ministries of God, where he also works as a deacon.

"If you look all around the street, there's tents," Kogan said. "I don't understand why he was singled out when his house was right here on the sidewalk. And you can look down the street and across the street and there's tents everywhere."

Kogan said that she and her friends were inspired to build the home for Clark after watching a video of a similar structure built by 37-year-old Elvis Summers earlier this year for 60-year-old Irene McGee, who slept on the streets near Summers' Los Angeles home.

"She's a human being, 60 years old, mother, grandmother sleeping in the dirt," Summers told KCAL-TV in April. "It's just not right."

Clark was charged with encroaching and lodging without consent after being taken into custody on Tuesday.

Watch KGTV's report on Clark's arrest, as aired on Wednesday, below.