Seattle finds itself in turmoil following a controversial decision made by its newly appointed mayor, known for her progressive views. The city, already grappling with significant crime and homelessness challenges, now sees drug users potentially sidestepping legal consequences due to a recent police directive.

Katie Wilson, a 43-year-old Democratic socialist, officially assumed office as Seattle’s 58th mayor last Friday. A key figure in founding the Transit Riders Union, Wilson’s leadership has already sparked concern among residents who fear that a new Seattle Police Department (SPD) directive could undermine the stability of Washington’s largest city.

SPD Chief Shon Barnes revealed through an internal memo that most drug-related offenses would now be managed by the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program, rather than through traditional prosecution.

“Starting immediately, all charges pertaining to drug possession and use will be redirected to the LEAD program instead of facing prosecution,” Barnes stated in a New Year’s Day message, as reported by the Daily Mail.

‘Effective immediately, all charges related to drug possession and/or drug use will be diverted from prosecution to the LEAD program,’ Barnes wrote in the New Year’s Day message reviewed by the Daily Mail. 

‘All instances of drug use or possession will be referred to Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) – a program designed to redirect low-level offenders in King County from the criminal justice system into supportive social services.’

Barnes wrote that if drug offenders refuse to comply with LEAD, prosecutors can then intervene. 

The program excludes those selling drugs and people with histories of violent felonies and sex offenses, as well as people already being supervised by the Department of Corrections. 

Democratic socialist Katie Wilson, 43, was sworn in as the city’s 58th mayor on Friday

A bowl of heroin syringes were collected from a Seattle homeless encampment in 2022

Barnes said that officers will continue to charge people for drug use and possession when appropriate, such as when it occurs in public view.  

‘Our mission remains unchanged, and we fully support programs and policies aimed at reducing recidivism and breaking the cycle of repeated criminal justice involvement,’ the police chief wrote. 

But the Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG) expressed discontent with the change, claiming that cops are now able to let public drug use slide – a sentiment that both the mayor and the SPD have denied.  

The SPOG president, Mike Solan, said on Sunday: ‘The recent naive, ignorant political decision to not arrest offenders for open drug use in the City of Seattle is horrifically dangerous and will create more death and societal decay.

‘It embodies an enormous flaw in those in our community who think that meeting people where they are, who are in the throes of addiction, is the correct path to lift them up.’

Solan, who leads the union representing all 1,300 members of the Seattle Police Department (SPD), slammed the order as ‘suicidal empathy.’ 

He also denounced the LEAD program, describing the initiative to offer community-based services to drug offenders instead of prosecuting them as a ‘waste of time.’ 

‘We’ve all seen how our streets can be filled with death, decay, blight and crime when ideology like this infects our city, Solan continued in his statement. 

A homeless man was seen checking on his friend who passed out after smoking fentanyl at a homeless encampment in 2022

An encampment at the site of an old store in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood was seen littered with garbage in June

‘Now with this resurrected insane direction, death, destruction and more human suffering will be supercharged.’

Lawmakers and residents have reacted to this news in horror, as the city already has a raging homelessness epidemic that they believe will only worsen.

From 2019 to 2024, the homeless population in King County spiked by 46 percent to 16,385 people, according to Seattle-based public policy think-tank Discovery Institute. 

Republican Washington state Representative Jim Walsh wrote on X: ‘The new mayor of Seattle has issued an imbecile order that police shall not arrest criminals using illegal drugs openly in public.

‘This is just stupid.’ 

We Heart Seattle, a nonprofit devoted to cleaning up public spaces and getting drug users off the streets, said: ‘Seattle will continue to be a sanctuary city for open-air use of illicit and lethal drugs, inviting people in droves where they won’t be arrested.’

Despite concerns raised by the police union, Wilson assured the Daily Mail that nothing has changed.

‘You’ll know when I announce a policy change, because I’ll announce a policy change,’ Wilson told the Daily Mail. 

She referenced a vision for public safety she recently published, which emphasizes her devotion to ensuring a safe Seattle for people of ‘every background.’  

‘I remain committed to that vision,’ she continued. ‘Our work now is to carry it out, including enforcement of the possession and public use ordinance in priority situations and ensuring that the LEAD framework and other effective responses to neighborhood hot spots are implemented with an appropriate level of urgency, sufficient resources, and a commitment to results.’

The SPD emphasized that the policy surrounding public drug use has not changed and cops ‘will continue to make arrests for drug-related charges if they have probable cause.’

The SPOG for comment on its statement. 

Up until February 2021, drug possession for personal use was a felony in Washington state. But the state’s Supreme Court struck down the law as unconstitutional in State v. Blake. 

The case eliminated the felony charge, and legislators passed a temporary law classifying the crime as a simple misdemeanor. 

From 2021 to 2023, arrests and prosecutions for drug possession plummeted, sparking fear among residents. 

By the spring of 2023, Washington state had introduced a permanent law making drug possession a gross misdemeanor. 

SPD Chief Shon Barnes sent an email to his department announcing that all drug cases will now be handled by the LEAD program

Seattle’s City Council was reluctant at first, but passed a law that October that made possession and public use gross misdemeanors, giving police officers clear authority to make arrests in these cases. 

The Seattle Metro Chamber released an index in October 2023, demonstrating Seattle voters’ negative attitudes toward their city, specifically regarding crime and drug use. 

From 2021 to 2023, concerns about public safety spiked by 20 points, with 60 percent of the 700 voters surveyed feeling less safe in their neighborhoods. 

‘Respondents overwhelmingly agree Seattle’s hands-off approach to people using fentanyl and meth in public has contributed to rampant street crime and hampered downtown’s recovery,’ the Chamber wrote. 

The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reported that 1,067 people died from fentanyl poisonings and overdoses in King County in 2023 – a 47 percent increase from the previous year.

Two-thirds of voters disagreed with Seattle not enforcing laws against public drug use, and 74 percent said they wanted the city to hire more cops. 

Seattle residents’ top concerns are still homelessness, crime, drugs and public safety, according to the October 2025 index. 

The city’s lack of urgency in addressing the sweeping homeless encampments riddled with drug paraphernalia and filth popping up in the area has caused immense frustration. 

SPOG President Mike Solan denounced the mayor’s decision in a statement on Sunday

An unsanctioned homeless encampment, seen in late November, has popped up near Seattle iconic Space Needle attraction 

‘A few of us in the neighborhood have been complaining every day,’ local Brandon Herman told KOMO News on Friday, of a homeless encampment at a city-owned property that has been heavily ignored.

‘There’s an open-air drug market and trash and human waste.’ 

Herman said that city officials had cleared out the vacant building and property, but those living there have already begun moving back in. 

‘There’s nothing keeping people out, no fence up, no body patrolling the area.’