Public outcry forces indefinite deferral of LRAD purchase after near-consent-agenda approval

A proposed purchase of long-range acoustic devices (LRADs) for the Spokane Police Department was pulled from the consent agenda and has been deferred indefinitely after months of public concern and a large open-forum backlash.

Council staff announced at the start of the Nov. 11 meeting that the LRAD item had been deferred indefinitely from the consent agenda, allowing community members to address it during open forum. That decision followed public discovery that the purchase had briefly been on the consent list and could have been approved with limited public notice. Speakers across the political spectrum urged the council not to buy LRADs — describing them as military-grade acoustic weapons with known risks including potential hearing injury — and asked for funds to be redirected to housing and social services.

Speakers cited vendor affiliations and foreign sales as a reason to withhold public funds and noted the procurement process risks items slipping through on consent if bundled above/below threshold costs. Commentators described the near-purchase as a failure of process and transparency and called for stronger public notice and oversight of consent-agenda items.

Council did not put the LRAD purchase back on the agenda at this meeting. Several community groups and veterans organizations urged permanent prohibition or strict new oversight should the item return; speakers also asked for clearer public notice of agenda changes. The council signaled it would not move forward with the purchase at this hearing and that oversight and procurement rules should be reviewed.

No formal purchase motion was adopted at the meeting; the item remains deferred "indefinitely" as characterized by multiple public speakers.