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Seattle: federal judge prohibits police from making arrests for vandalism and property damage

Marsha Pechman argued that a law that punishes people who "intentionally damage the property of another" or graffiti public property is an infringement on an individual's freedom of expression.

Vandalism, Graffiti

(Pexels)

Published by
Verónica Silveri Pazos

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District Court Judge Marsha Pechman, temporarily prohibited Seattle (Washington) police from arresting citizens on property damage charges. The Seattle Police Department issued a statement:

Yesterday afternoon, SPD received an order from a U.S. District Court judge enjoining, in its entirety, enforcement of SMC 12A.080.020, the city's misdemeanor property destruction law. This means that until further order of the Court, SPD cannot take action for property damage under this law. This is not a matter at the discretion of the SPD or the city; we are bound by the court order as written.

A "vague" and "broad" law

The Seattle Times reported that a city code states that anyone who "intentionally damages the property of another or writes, paints or draws any inscription, figure or mark of any kind on any public or private building or other structure or any movable or immovable property owned by any other person (...) is guilty of destruction of property, which is typically referred to the city attorney to prosecute if the value of the damage is less than $1,000."

Pechman claimed that this law is "both vague and overly broad" and argued that it could be used to deprive people of their freedom of speech. She gave an interesting example:

There is allegedly a policy not to arrest children drawing rainbows on the sidewalk, but the statute would allow for that or the arrest of those who might scribe something that irks an individual officer.

However, her injunction not only prohibits graffiti-related arrests but disables the city's entire property damage code.

Seattle, a city full of graffiti and vandalism

In 2022, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell stated that "since 2019, incidents of graffiti reported by the public have increased by more than 50%, including nearly 20,000 reports of graffiti and tagging in 2021."

Since the beginning of the Black Lives Matter movement, Seattle has faced increased vandalism and crime. This is a result of the city council taking away funding from the police.

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