Seattle’s mayor is under increased scrutiny regarding her public safety strategy following the release of an internal police email that reveals a shift towards diverting most drug possession and public use cases away from prosecution. This approach has sparked criticism from those who believe it sends a negative message, particularly as visible drug use persists throughout the city.

The controversy began when Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes issued an internal memo explaining the handling of low-level drug offenses starting in 2026. Critics are concerned this indicates a reduced emphasis on enforcement, despite Mayor Katie Wilson’s administration being only weeks old. City officials maintain that no official policy change has occurred, but detractors argue that the practical effects suggest otherwise.

According to the email, which Fox News Digital obtained, Barnes stated that all charges related to drug possession and use will be redirected from prosecution to the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program, following advice from the City Attorney’s Office. This directive targets user-quantity cases, whereas drug dealers and those not eligible for LEAD will still face prosecution.

Barnes clarified that officers are still required to make arrests when there is probable cause, especially in instances of public drug use.

An employee from the Metropolitan Improvement District Downtown Ambassadors cleans the area near Seattle Police Department officers patrolling Third Avenue in downtown Seattle on March 24, 2022. (David Ryder/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The Seattle Police Department has refuted claims of changing enforcement practices, reiterating to Fox News Digital that officers will continue to make drug-related arrests and affirming that SPD policies remain unchanged.

The department said prosecutors, not police, determine whether cases move forward, adding that officers can coordinate with prosecutors to pursue traditional prosecution in cases where diversion is deemed ineffective.

SPD also pointed to staffing gains and declining crime rates, noting the department added 165 officers in 2025 and saw reductions in both violent and property crime.

New Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson is facing backlash over the police memo. (Katie Wilson for Seattle)

Mayor Katie Wilson rejected claims that her administration has shifted drug enforcement policy.

“There has been no policy change,” Wilson said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “You’ll know when I announce a policy change, because I’ll announce a policy change.”

Wilson said she remains committed to enforcing the city’s public use and possession ordinance in “priority situations” while expanding diversion programs like LEAD in neighborhood hot spots, stressing urgency, resources and measurable results.

Seattle and San Francisco have adopted new policies regarding distributing clean drug supplies.  (Pablo Porciuncula/AFP via Getty Images; Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Despite those assurances, critics remain unconvinced.

In an opinion piece published by Seattle Red, conservative radio host and Seattle commentator Jason Rantz argued that diverting most drug use and possession cases away from prosecution undermines accountability, regardless of how city officials describe the policy. Rantz said that when arrests are not followed by prosecution, the message to offenders is that public drug use carries few real consequences.

Criticism has also come from within law enforcement.

Andrea Suarez dismantles a tent as garbage lies piled at a homeless encampment on March 13, 2022, in Seattle, Washington.  (John Moore/Getty Images)

Speaking to Rantz on his radio show, Seattle Police Officers Guild President Mike Solan sharply criticized the approach outlined in the internal police email, warning it puts public safety at risk and sends the wrong message about open drug use.

Solan told Rantz that diverting most drug use cases away from prosecution is dangerous and reflects what he described as a naïve political approach to addiction. He warned the strategy could lead to increased crime and overdose deaths, referring to the philosophy behind it as “suicidal empathy.”

Solan also said many officers are skeptical of the LEAD program, telling Rantz that some avoid making LEAD referrals altogether because they believe the program is ineffective and driven more by ideology than accountability.

“The recent naive, ignorant political decision to not arrest offenders for open drug use in the City of Seattle is horrifically dangerous and will create more death and societal decay,” Solan told Rantz. “It embodies an enormous flaw in those in our community who think that meeting people where they are who are in the throes of addiction, is the correct path to lift them up.”

Similar concerns were raised by outreach groups.

Residents of a homeless encampment walk through the encampment after smoking fentanyl on March 11, 2022, in Seattle, Washington. (John Moore/Getty Images)

According to MyNorthwest, Andrea Suarez, executive director of the nonprofit We Heart Seattle, warned that allowing open drug use in public spaces enables addiction and accelerates harm. Suarez argued that enforcement plays a critical role in pushing people toward treatment and said diversion-based approaches without consequences fail to meaningfully disrupt drug use.

City officials, however, maintain that enforcement remains in place. Seattle Police say officers will continue to make arrests when probable cause exists, while Wilson insists there has been no policy change and that the city is focused on enforcing drug laws in “priority situations” while expanding diversion efforts in high-impact areas.

Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.