Seattle’s new mayor is now reportedly under mounting scrutiny after an internal police email outlined how most drug possession and public use cases will be steered toward diversion programs instead of prosecution, a move critics say risks normalizing open drug use at a time when it remains highly visible across the city.
The controversy flared after Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes circulated an internal message detailing how low-level drug cases are expected to be handled in 2026. The guidance has fueled concerns that, just weeks into Mayor Katie Wilson’s administration, the city is effectively softening enforcement despite assurances from City Hall that no formal policy change has occurred.
In the email, Barnes wrote that “all charges related to drug possession and/or drug use will be diverted from prosecution to the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program,” citing direction from the City Attorney’s Office. The guidance applies to user-quantity drug cases, while dealers and individuals deemed ineligible for LEAD would still face prosecution.
Barnes stressed that officers are still expected to make arrests when probable cause exists, particularly when drug use happens in public view. Seattle Police Department officials have since pushed back on claims that enforcement is being rolled back, telling Fox News Digital that officers will continue making drug-related arrests and that SPD policy has not changed.
The department emphasized that charging decisions ultimately rest with prosecutors, not police, and said officers can still coordinate with prosecutors to pursue traditional prosecution in cases where diversion proves ineffective. SPD also pointed to staffing gains and crime trends, noting the department added 165 officers in 2025 and recorded declines in both violent and property crime.
Wilson echoed that message, insisting the administration has not quietly shifted policy. “There has been no policy change,” she said in a statement. “You’ll know when I announce a policy change, because I’ll announce a policy change.” Wilson said she remains committed to enforcing the city’s public use and possession ordinance in what she described as “priority situations,” while expanding diversion programs like LEAD in neighborhood hot spots with an emphasis on urgency, resources and measurable outcomes.
Critics, however, say the distinction between policy and practice is meaningless on the street. In an opinion piece for Seattle Red, conservative radio host and commentator Jason Rantz argued that when arrests routinely end in diversion instead of prosecution, the message to offenders is clear: public drug use carries few real consequences.
That concern is shared by some within law enforcement. Speaking with Rantz on his radio show, Seattle Police Officers Guild President Mike Solan blasted the approach outlined in the internal email, warning it puts public safety at risk and reflects what he called a naïve political view of addiction.
Solan said diverting most drug use cases away from prosecution is dangerous and could lead to increased crime and overdose deaths, referring to the philosophy behind it as “suicidal empathy.” He also claimed many officers are skeptical of LEAD, saying some avoid referrals because they view the program as ineffective and driven more by ideology than accountability.
Concerns have also come from outreach groups working on the front lines. According to MyNorthwest, Andrea Suarez, executive director of the nonprofit We Heart Seattle, warned that tolerating open drug use in public spaces enables addiction and accelerates harm. Suarez argued enforcement plays a critical role in pushing people toward treatment and that diversion without consequences fails to disrupt destructive behavior.
City officials maintain enforcement remains intact, but for critics, the internal email confirms what they fear is a continuation of Seattle’s long-running experiment with leniency — one they say has already left neighborhoods grappling with visible drug use, disorder and declining public confidence in the city’s approach to public safety.
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