Seattle City Council adopts amended crowd-management policy limiting some "less-lethal" tools after hours of debate

SEATTLE — The Seattle City Council on Feb. 11 passed an amended crowd-management ordinance (council bill 120916) that sets new limits on the Seattle Police Department’s use of certain “less-lethal” tools, including deployment standards for blast balls and a role for accountability bodies and the executive in authorizations.

The vote was 6 in favor and 3 opposed. Council members Saka, Solomon, Strauss, Kettle and Council President Sarah Nelson voted yes; Council member Hollingsworth voted no; the final tally recorded 6–3 in favor. The ordinance was adopted as amended and the chair signed it.

The measure updates Seattle Municipal Code to align with state law on chemical agents, clarifies the roles of oversight bodies and SPD command, and adds new deployment guidelines for blast balls. It was the culmination of a months-long process tied to the city’s consent-decree work and followed a lengthy public comment period in which dozens of residents and activists urged the council to keep a ban on blast balls and other less-lethal munitions.

Council member Kettle, chair of the Public Safety Committee and sponsor at the full council, framed the bill as balancing public-safety and civil-rights…