Seattle City Council Eyes Repeal Of Loitering Laws

SEATTLE, WA — The Seattle City Council is considering repeals for two loitering ordinances over concerns both policies have racist origins and continue to disproportionately impact marginalized communities.

The first piece of legislation, sponsored by Councilmember Andrew Lewis, would roll back Seattle's drug traffic loitering law, originally adopted in the city's municipal code in the 1990s during the "War on Drugs." As a result, officers could arrest a person on suspicion of soliciting drugs in a public place, even without evidence or drugs present.

Before he was elected to the council in 2019, Lewis was an assistant prosecutor at the Seattle City Attorney's Office.

"This law has a racist history and historically criminalized 'hanging out,' simply because someone looked like they were trafficking drugs, allowing racial profiling and the criminalization of communities of color," Lewis said in a news release. "Though the City Attorney's Office doesn't charge under this ordinance, it's time we remove this law from the books for good."

Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes said his office stopped charging crimes under the loitering ordinances after findings from a 2018 workgroup highlighted their racist origins. Holmes supports the effort to repeal both laws.

"My office hasn't charged either of these offenses since that time two years ago, with the exception of a single errant filing this year which we're working to withdraw," Holmes said. "Kudos to Councilmembers Lewis, Morales and Pedersen for introducing these ordinances to permanently remove these laws from Seattle's books."

Lewis' second bill, co-sponsored with councilmembers Tammy Morales and Alex Pedersen, would repeal the city's prostitution loitering ordinance.

"This is an outdated, and frankly racist policy in our City's municipal code," Morales said. "By repealing this part of the code we are assured that drug offenders and sex workers will be treated humanely and not criminalized."

The city council is scheduled to vote on both bills at a meeting Monday, June 22.