(The Center Square) – The Seattle Police Department has clarified that officers will continue to make arrests for drug-related charges when probable cause exists, with the City Attorney’s Office then determining next steps, including diversion to the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion, or LEAD, program.
The Seattle City Attorney is Erika Evans, who officially assumed office on Jan. 1. She won the November general election, defeating the incumbent, Ann Davison.
Monday’s clarification followed the backlash over an internal email from Chief Shon Barnes on Jan. 1, which indicated a policy shift to divert all drug possession and use cases to the LEAD program, rather than pursuing traditional prosecution.
The New Year’s Day email – obtained by The Center Square – stated the following: “Effective immediately, all charges related to drug possession and/or drug use will be diverted from prosecution to the LEAD program. 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.”
“If an individual fails to comply with the LEAD program, traditional prosecutorial measures will apply. As you know, LEAD is a familiar alternative to arrest program that we have been utilizing for some time. This change aligns with Seattle City Ordinance 126896. Please note that this diversion does not apply to individuals who are ineligible for LEAD or to those arrested for selling or delivering controlled substances. User quantity cases may be diverted; sell and deliver cases will not.”
LEAD was first launched as a pilot program in 2011 and is currently offered in Seattle’s West, East, North, and South Police Precinct patrol areas as well as in Metro Transit zones and on Metro buses through the King County Sheriff’s Office.
Barnes’ New Year’s Day email drew criticism from Seattle Police Officers Guild President Mike Solan, who said jail diversion programs reinforce “suicidal empathy.”
Solan said many Seattle police officers are reluctant to refer cases to LEAD because they do not believe the program’s underlying ideology of jail diversion is effective.
“[LEAD] is 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 said in a social media post on Sunday. “Now with this resurrected insane direction, death, destruction and more human suffering will be supercharged.”
Solan’s statement drew immediate comments from Washington State Republican Party Chair Jim Walsh, who claimed in a Sunday night social media post that new Mayor Katie Wilson issued an “imbecile order” preventing police from arresting suspects of open drug use.
Wilson has since denied allegations of a directive that ordered officers to halt open drug use arrests.
Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank also responded to Solan’s post by inviting Seattle police officers and guild members to transfer to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office laterally.
Seattle’s support for the LEAD program continues in 2026, with the city recently approving increased funding by dedicating up to 25% of a sales tax increase to addiction treatment services, including LEAD.
Seattle previously stopped officers from arresting people for using drugs between 2021 and 2023. In 2021, the Washington Supreme Court ruled, in what is known as the Blake decision, that the felony drug possession law was unconstitutional because it criminalized “unknowing possession.” In May 2023, the Legislature passed a new law that made possession and public use of the substance a gross misdemeanor.
Following the Legislature’s “Blake fix,” Seattle made the use or possession of controlled substances in a public place a gross misdemeanor, while prioritizing jail diversion for offenders, where officers can refer people in custody to programs like LEAD.
