Seattle, WA
Seattle-area sheriff calls on police force not to enforce city’s homeless encampment legislation
A Seattle-area sheriff has directed her police force not to implement a new City of Burien order on homeless encampments.
The order outlaws homeless encampments within 500 feet of places like schools and parks. King County Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall told deputies not to enforce the order until the constitutionality of the law was sorted.
“We have strong concerns on whether the terms of this ordinance are constitutional, based on the existing legal authority,” Cole-Tindall said in an email sent to the force, obtained by KTTH Radio host Jason Rantz.
“I do not want any of you to find yourself in a situation where you are asked or expected to do something that could violate legally-established rights,” the sheriff wrote in an email obtained by the station. “I am directing you that we will not enforce this particular section of the Burien Municipal Code until the constitutionality of the public camping ordinance is resolved.”
According to the report, Cole-Tindall did not make city officials, including Mayor Kevin Schilling, aware of her order. Councilmembers were reportedly caught off guard, only hearing about the chief’s order when KTTH reached out to him for comment.
“This is the undemocratic situation that occurs when a higher government official gets to dictate what occurs in local governments,” Schilling told Fox News Digital. “The City of Burien pays millions of dollars to the King County Sheriff’s Office with the expectation they will enforce our city codes and laws to keep the community safe and publicly accessible for all.”
The sheriff was appointed by King County Executive Dow Constantine in 2021. Schilling said Constantine and Cole-Tindall are playing with politics instead of public safety.
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“Instead, King County has the highest level of homelessness ever, the highest number of overdose deaths in the country, and continuously increasing taxes for programs that do not show results or solve problems,” Schilling said. “I believe in government accountability and individual responsibility. This isn’t a liberal or conservative problem. The issue of homelessness, drug addiction, mental health issues, and criminal activity cuts across traditional partisan divides.”
The Burien City Council passed the “emergency ordinance” in a 5-2 vote, citing health and public safety concerns.
SEATTLE — Paige Bueckers scored 27 points, Azzi Fudd added a career-high 26, including the go-ahead basket with 13.2 seconds left in overtime, and the Dallas Wings beat the Seattle Storm 112-110 on Monday night.
Bueckers, who scored 17 of the Wings’ final 24, netted her 1,000th career point in overtime to cap her night and put Dallas ahead 109-108. She tied Elena Delle Donne for the fourth-fastest in WNBA history to reach the milestone at 52 games.
Fudd followed with a go-ahead layup that put Dallas up 111-110 before Jessica Shepard stole the ball, and Aziaha James capped the scoring with a free throw to end it.
Dallas finished with a WNBA record 48 made field goals.
James scored 18 points off the bench for Dallas (11-6), and Shepard had 14 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Li Yueru scored 10.
Dominique Malonga scored a career-high 37 to go with 12 rebounds for Seattle (3-15). She became the youngest player in league history to reach 200 career field goals at 20 years and 219 days old. Natisha Hiedeman had 21 and 11 assists, and Awa Fam had 18 points.
Dallas trailed 94-88 with 1:24 remaining in regulation before Bueckers rattled off the Wings’ final eight points of regulation, including back-to-back 3-pointers, to help force overtime.
Seattle has lost 11 straight games.
Up next
Wings: Visit the Las Vegas Aces on Thursday.
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Storm: Host the New York Liberty on Thursday.
Two weeks ago, we reported on information prepared for a scheduled meeting of the City Council Public Safety Committee, suggesting that SPD might have to slow its hiring because fewer officers were leaving, which posed a budget dilemma. That briefing scheduled for the committee’s June 9 meeting ultimately was postponed because it was the last item on the agenda and the previous two ran long. It’s now scheduled for tomorrow’s committee meeting (9:30 am Tuesday, June 23), same slide deck, but this time it’s the second item on the agenda, so not likely to be bumped again. It’s a regularly scheduled quarterly update, no votes scheduled nor attached proposals, but it can be viewed in the prism of the city’s looming budget shortfall. The agenda explains how to comment and/or watch, in person or remotely.
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