Initiative Would Criminalize Sleeping Outdoors in King County
The proposal, backed by burger scion-turned-fill-in-KIRO host Saul Spady, is part of a four-point "plan to end homelessness" that includes a three-strikes law for overdoses.
By Erica C. Barnett
Saul Spady—Dick's Burgers scion, anti-tax election activist (twice over), and KIRO radio fill-in host—has filed an initiative that would criminalize "unauthorized camping and storage of personal property" in unincorporated King County. The proposal, which Spady has dubbed "the Compassionate Public Safety Act," would make sleeping outdoors or "storing" property in public a misdemeanor; modeled after a similar total sleeping ban in Burien, the initiative would give police power to arrest people who fall asleep in public.
The ballot language, approved by the King County Prosecutor's Office, says the measure "would not be enforced when overnight shelter is unavailable," then lists exceptions to that rule that would allow police to make arrests if they determine the person sleeping "poses a substantial danger to any person, an immediate threat and/or risk of harm to public health or safety, or a disruption to vital government services."
These carveouts are similar to the exemptions included in Seattle's official policy on encampments, which guarantees unsheltered people 72 hours' notice before a sweep unless they or their belongings constitute an "immediate hazard or obstruction." For years, the city has interpreted that exemption very broadly to allow sweeps of tents in public spaces, including parks, sidewalks, and planting strips—basically, anywhere housed people might complain about the presence of homeless people.
Spady did not respond to a request for an interview. In a press release announcing the initiative and the creation of a new group called the Quality of Life Coalition earlier this month, initiative supporter and Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic said, "As an avowed independent and music fan, I know the world is coming to Seattle looking for the soul of our music scene and quite often they find graffiti, addiction and in-action [sic]. ... [This is the first step toward making King County safe, livable, and worthy of our incredible cultural legacy I’m proud to be a part of.”
The Quality of Life Coalition also plans to propose an initiative that would force anyone who "commits three crimes linked to addiction, such as OD'ing, theft, or public drug use" (note: overdosing is not a crime) into mandatory six-month rehab, and one that would impose mandatory five-year jail sentences for any drug dealer who "is not an addict."
Sounds nuts to you, maybe, even logistically impossible—how are dealers supposed to prove they're addicted, exactly, and how would King County jails handle the influx of low-level dealers who'd get swept up in such a law? But it's not much different from the policy City Attorney Ann Davison endorsed toward drug users last year, saying that anyone who overdoses three times should be arrested and thrown in jail. Spady's group is collecting signatures now.