Seattle City Council passes ordinance to let police use less-lethal weapons again
Seattle City Council approves use of ‘less-lethal’ weapons for crowd control
The Seattle City Council has passed a controversial ordinance that would allow "less lethal" weapons for crowd control.
SEATTLE - The Seattle City Council passed an ordinance 6-3 Tuesday afternoon that allows Seattle Police to use less-lethal weapons in crowd management settings.
Local perspective:
The ordinance repealed a previous ordinance and section of the city code that prevented police from owning or using less-lethal weapons.
This means Seattle police are now allowed to use tear gas or blast balls again in specific settings. The ordinance cites situations like riots, barricaded subjects or hostage situations.
Tear gas would only be available for police to use in crowd management settings if all other reasonable force options have been exhausted, lives are at risk, and the mayor declares a civil emergency. Supervisor approval would also be required to deploy tear gas, and officers need to announce their intent to use tear gas beforehand.
The use of blast balls is permitted to disperse a crowd if there is "an imminent threat of violence against persons or significant property damage," and after the mayor has declared a civil emergency, according to the ordinance.
A blast ball is like a stun grenade, typically detonated in riot control scenarios to generate a loud sound and release pepper gas or tear gas.
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Other less-lethal weapons, like pepper spray, pepper ball launchers, 40mm launchers and batons can be used if there is an "imminent risk of physical injury to any person or significant property damage." Use for crowd dispersal also requires approval from an incident commander or supervisor.
The Seattle Police Department now has 60 days to finalize a new crowd management policy, which will be reviewed by the Department of Justice and a federal monitor.
The other side:
Despite it passing, many opposed the ordinance during public comment, arguing it gives SPD too much power and could lead to the same kind of force seen during the 2020 protests.
"Do not bring back non-lethal tools used to suppress our voices. Do not weaponize the Seattle Police Department," said one person during the city council meeting.
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The Seattle City Council has voted unanimously to ban police from using tear gas, pepper spray and several other crowd control devices.
Some councilmembers issued statements following the ordinance's passage:
"The crowd management guidelines we passed today strike an important balance of giving our police officers flexibility to keep people in large gatherings safe, while also adding in clearly defined accountability measures," said Public Safety Committee Chair Bob Kettle (District 7). "I want to thank the Mayor’s Office and Seattle Police Department for their work in aligning the legislation with best practices so we can end the consent decree. I also want to thank all those that reached out to us on this bill and especially our accountability partners."
"Today’s passage of new crowd management guidelines for Seattle police is another major achievement for this Council," said Council President Sara Nelson (Position 9). "Public safety is our top priority, and we continue to deliver. With the end of the federal consent decree in sight, it’s important we continue to lay the groundwork for the Police Department to play its key role in building a safer Seattle for everyone while holding officers accountable."
The Source: Information in this story is from the Seattle City Council and FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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