Seattle Temporarily Bans Police Tear Gas, After Public Outcry

SEATTLE, WA — Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best will immediately issue an order banning officers' use of tear gas for 30 days, while the city develops new crowd management policies, Mayor Jenny Durkan announced Friday.

Best said there are some situations where the gas could still be used, including scenarios where it could be a "life-saving issue." For those incidents, the chief says, use would be limited to specially-trained SWAT personnel, and only with direct approval from the chief.

"We don't want to remove that tool wholly across the organization, without having a full and thorough review by our competent and well-regarded accountability partners," Best said.

The announcement follows a joint memo delivered to the mayor and police chief Friday morning, signed by leaders of Seattle's three police accountability branches, citing health concerns and a lack of clear policy or training.

"CPC, OIG, and OPA ask the Seattle Police Department to cease the use of CS gas in response to First Amendment activity, until such a time as any appropriate use can be vetted by oversight entities and incorporated into a written SPD policy," the memo reads. "The SPD manual does not reference the use of CS gas nor the conditions under which it can be used for general crowd control."

Durkan said the three accountability branches will work with the police department and the federal court monitor to craft new crowd management recommendations over the next month.

Community activists, protesters and Seattle councilmembers have repeatedly criticized police use of tear gas and other crowd-control devices during recent protests.

The Office for Police Accountability is investigating at least four allegations of misconduct related to the police response on Capitol Hill Monday night, where officers doused a large crowd of protesters with pepper spray and threw several flash-bang grenades.

Related: Witness Interviews Begin As Seattle Protest Complaints Hit 15,000

Video shared on Twitter showed tear gas smoke pouring through the neighborhood, and residents told The Stranger they were exposed to the fumes inside their apartments.

The police oversight memo notes that tear gas is banned for military use under the Chemical Weapons Convention and mentions recent reports that it permeated into people's homes.

"The public in recent events have described adverse health effects on residents, including infants, in their homes where tear gas has been deployed. Medical literature about the immediate and long-term risks support the need for a more stringent policy on use of CS gas."

Dr. Jeff Duchin, health officer for King County, tweeted Thursday that Public Health - Seattle & King County opposed tear gas and "other respiratory irritants," due to the potential for increased COVID-19 spread. Durkan said she consulted with Duchin, and Director of Public Health Patty Hayes, regarding the potential health effects of tear gas prior to Friday's announcement.

Related: Tear Gas Is Way More Dangerous Than Police Let On

While the mayor's decision pertains only to tear gas, the Community Police Commission has reiterated its recommendations that Seattle police stop using other devices, like "blast balls," until a thorough review can be completed.

During a Seattle City Council hearing on Wednesday, Councilmember Kshama Sawant pledged to introduce legislation seeking to ban a wide scope of crowd-control devices, including tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets, water cannons and sonic weapons.

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