Seattle City Council Votes to Reauthorize Police Use of Less-Lethal Weapons During Riots

The Seattle City Council Tuesday reauthorized the use of blast balls, pepper spray, tear gas, and pepper balls by police for crowd-control purposes.

The ordinance, passed by a vote of 6-3, limits the use of those non-lethal tools to instances where officers believe they face "imminent risk of physical injury to any person or significant property damage," KUOW reports.

In the wake of the 2020 protests and riots, the city attempted to prevent police use of non-lethal weapons for crowd control, but that move was blocked by a federal judge.

The new ordinance allows police to use non-lethal weapons such as blast balls and pepper spray but requires those methods to be approved by the chief of police. An amendment to the ordinance requires police to throw blast balls under-hand and not directly at people but at open spaces.

Adopting a new crowd-control policy is required to fully end federal oversight of the Seattle Police Department.