Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan. (Photo by Karen Ducey / Getty Images)
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan left unsigned a recently passed bill that limited the police department’s use of less lethal weapons during protests, labeling the legislation as “wrong” in a long letter to city council members.
Seattle council is wary of changes in SPD policies following the judge’s reprimand
The move was approved by Seattle City Council in a 7-0 vote in mid-August. In practice, it restricts the use of weapons such as tear gas, pepper spray and flash bang devices, especially during protests and demonstrations, while completely banning the use of blast balls and a handful of other weapons. crowd control. The implementation of the bill is conditional on the approval of the U.S. Department of Justice and the federal monitors in charge of the city’s police consent decree.
In her letter to the council, Mayor Durkan set out a litany of objections to the ordinance, alleging that its conditional application is “of dubious legality” and that if the DOJ destroys it, it could “undermine confidence”. creating confusion and accelerating more outflows from SPD “.
Durkan also cites SPD’s own recent changes to its crowd management policies, while pointing to the council’s bill as “contrary to ongoing work to ensure that changes in this critical area are based on broad input. of the community, a systematic review of events, the real dynamics of the police and the best national experts “.
In a written statement to MyNorthwest, the office of the council’s Public Safety Committee chair, Lisa Herbold, criticized the mayor’s criticism and noted that she had “met informally” with a federal monitor and the DOJ to discuss the bill as it was being drafted, and had “made changes to legislation in response to these talks.” Herbold added, moreover, that it was “developed in compliance with and with respect to the consent decree process.”
The bill itself was the culmination of a one-year saga that began in June 2020, when the council passed a radical ban on the purchase and use of almost all less lethal weapons. A federal judge overseeing the city’s consent decree prevented it from taking effect a month later.
Two months later, the three Seattle police responsibility groups (the Police Responsibility Office, the Community Police Commission, and the Office of the Inspector General) presented reports recommending large-scale changes in control methods. of SPD crowd, but differed on whether some were less lethal. weapons must be allowed in specific situations.
Oversight groups differ on how to handle the ban on controlling crowds
In January 2021, Herbold began the process of drafting a new bill that would instead focus on a “tiered approach”. This time, the goal was to work with federal monitors to ensure that the restrictions set out in the proposal did not conflict with the consent decree.
After months of discussion, disclosure and amendments, the bill was passed in August 2021. As Mayor Durkan chose to leave it unsigned instead of issuing a veto, it will move forward.
Soon, SPD will have to draft policy reviews that reflect the new limits set in the legislation, which will then be reviewed by the DOJ. A federal judge will also review these reviews. If the DOJ and the court approve the measure, it will take effect.