A proposed public drug use law will go before the full Seattle City Council after it passed out of the Public Safety & Human Services Committee on Tuesday.
The ordinance would allow the City Attorney to prosecute people for possessing or using drugs in public, designate diversion and treatment as the city's preferred approach after arrests have been made and provide guidance to Seattle police on what actions to take when encountering someone using drugs in public.
The city attempted to pass a different ordinance codifying a state law that made public drug use a gross misdemeanor back in June, but it was narrowly voted down. Councilmembers who opposed the ordinance expressed concern over a lack of concrete diversion and treatment options for people arrested under the ordinance.
The most recent proposal would require the Seattle Police Department (SPD) to adopt policies that would:
- State that diversion and referral services are the preferred response to possession and public drug use while acknowledging that arrests are warranted in some situations.
- Provide guidance on diversion and be consistent with public health and safety-related guidance from an Executive Order issued by Mayor Harrell
- Seek to minimize use of force and incorporate de-escalation and crisis intervention that reflects existing SPD policies
- Require SPD to report to the city council on data it collects on the racial composition of those who are arrested and diverted to community-based services prior to jail booking or referral for prosecution and those who are booked and referred for prosecution
Should the ordinance pass, Harrell plans to issue an Executive Order that will help SPD determine how officers should react when they encounter someone using drugs in public. The preferred actions differ based on whether the person poses a threat of harm to themself or a threat of harm to others.
When considering whether or not to make an arrest, officers may consider whether a person is a threat of harm to others, or themselves.
If officers determine a person is a threat to themself, officers may make a "reasonable attempt to contact and coordinate efforts for diversion, outreach and other alternatives to arrest," according to the proposal. If a person is not also a threat to others, officers may only arrest if they have "identified additional articulable facts and circumstances warranting arrest."
The ordinance would also require officers who make arrests to complete arrest reports that include facts that establish probable cause, an assessment of the threat presented by the individual who knowingly possessed and used a controlled substance in public and whether, and in what manner, arrest or diversion was considered or utilized.
Councilmember Lisa Herbold noted the ordinance does not require an officer to make an arrest at all. As noted throughout the ordinance, the council's preference for dealing with public drug use is diversion.
The full city council is scheduled to vote on the amendment on Sept. 26, but the vote could be pushed back to a later date.