Seattle jail proposal passes after protesters derail vote

Controversial Seattle jail proposal passes after angry crowd derails vote

A contentious vote by the Seattle City Council was derailed and delayed on Tuesday evening amid a chorus of angry protesters who shouted down city leaders.

SEATTLE - A contentious vote by the Seattle City Council was derailed and delayed on Tuesday evening amid a chorus of angry protesters who shouted down city leaders.

The councilmembers eventually left the public meeting room and retreated to a private space to make their decision. The proposal passed 8-1 after a heated Zoom debate.

The source of the public outrage is a proposal from Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, who argues that misdemeanor crime in the city is out of control, and the downtown jail is at capacity. To address the issue, Harrell wants to send offenders to a correctional center in South King County known as the South Correctional Entity (SCORE).

The plan would cost the city between $1.5 and $3 million annually, money that opponents argue the city cannot afford during a budget shortfall.

Under the proposal, the city would use 20 beds at SCORE to hold misdemeanor offenders for 24 to 48 hours.

During discussion at council last week, a King County public defender voiced strong objections to the plan.

"To have them held for a day and then released, that’s nothing! This is theater! This isn’t action," they said.

Proponents of the plan, including Councilmember Bob Kettle, argue that COVID-19 restrictions and a shortage of correctional officers have limited the downtown jail's capacity, leaving no room to book those charged with misdemeanor crimes such as assault, DUI, theft, and sex crimes.

"If we cannot book those that need to be booked in jail for misdemeanor crimes, it often leads to continual challenges that we see in our communities," Kettle said during a Public Safety Committee meeting in support of the proposal.

However, the plan has faced significant opposition. Councilmember Tammy Morales criticizes the ordinance as rushed and fiscally irresponsible.

Protesters, some holding signs reading "SCORE is deadly" and "Shut down SCORE," filled the council chambers, extending the public comment period by more than 20 minutes. They pointed to the deaths of six people at the facility since 2023 and criticized the jail's lack of transparency about the causes of those deaths.

Despite the interruption, the vote still passed 8-1. The only no vote was from Tammy Morales.