King County enforces a camping ordinance in SeaTac without the assistance of a contracted service provider; however, KCSO has a different requirement for Burien.
by Katie Kresly.
On March 4, 2024, Burien City Council passed camping Ordinance 832, with the intent to “clarify and enhance” its expectations surrounding “unlawful public camping.” (Ordinance 832 FAQ)
However, on March 8, King County Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall issued a directive to KC contracted Burien police officers to NOT uphold Burien’s updated Ordinance 832. She later served the city with a lawsuit on March 11, calling the city’s new ordinance “unconstitutional.”
Burien’s Police Chief Ted Boe, who appears to be siding with his primary employer, King County, also gave a court declaration on March 13 citing his concerns regarding Burien leadership, the new camping ordinance, and “lack of camp management.”
Since early March, Sheriff Cole-Tindall has repeatedly informed Burien leaders that they must have a contracted service provider before KCSO will consider enforcing Burien’s camping ordinance. In a letter to the community on April 23 the sheriff states specifically:
Before the City recently changed its public camping ordinance, officers enforced the public camping ordinance in partnership with the city’s social service contractors. Unfortunately, the Burien City Council passed a new public camping ordinance in March that police officers cannot enforce because it is unconstitutional. The City of Burien then discontinued social service contracts, which are necessary to have effective enforcement and compliance with public camping ordinances. As a result of these decisions, the City of Burien has taken away those tools which police officers and other community members needed. Burien’s City Council is in the best position to restore these tools.
Burien-News has been able to confirm that SeaTac does not have a “contracted service provider” as demanded by the KCSO on Burien.
The following is an email communication from City Manager Adolfo Bailon to Mayor Kevin Schilling, dated May 2, 2024, including a response from City of SeaTac, confirming the law enforcement double standard:
Sent: Thursday, May 2, 2024 8:46:40 AM
To: Kevin Schilling <KevinS@burienwa.gov>
Subject: Information from SeaTac
Hello Mayor,
It took a while, but we finally received confirmation from the City of SeaTac regarding their work with service providers. The City of SeaTac does not have a contract with a service provider.
King County enforces a camping ordinance in SeaTac without the assistance of a contracted service provider. This is contrary to the demand made by Sheriff Cole-Tindall in Burien: Burien must have a contract with a service provider in order for Burien PD to enforce any ordinance on camping. This information has been shared with Legal and our outside counsel.
Below is the full text of the email that I received from City of SeaTac. Note: SeaTac personnel reference a “List of Human Services.” This list is comparable to a list that includes any of the following: 1. HUMC Winter Shelter, 2. Transform Burien Services, 3. Mary’s Place Shelter, etc.
AB
Full email from City of SeaTac:
We do not have a specific provider but we do have our list of Human Services that PD and Parks can use. We also have vouchers if necessary to prove we have space if someone wants to push the limits. In the end, we do not have a downtown per se so not attractive to unhoused folks and our problem is small.
Feel free to share with Burien.
Burien-News will continue to follow this story and update accordingly.
Wow double standard is right, the King County Sheriff is getting caught in the web of lies