King County Councilmember proposes legislation to condemn Seattle's City Hall Park as safety hazard

New legislation from the county could condemn a park near Seattle's downtown core as a public safety hazard.

King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn proposed legislation on Tuesday to have the county condemn City Hall Park as a "threat to public health, safety, and welfare." The park, sometimes called "Courthouse Park" given it's proximity to the building, is under the jurisdiction of Seattle.

Dunn cited a survey from the King County Prosecutor’s Office which found that 160 of the 220 employees at the courthouse have expressed concerns about their safety. The county receives two to five reports per week of assaults on employees, according to Dunn.

"King County employees should be able to return to work without fearing for their lives, plain and simple," Dunn said in a statement Tuesday. "While I have sympathy for those who are experiencing homelessness, there is nothing compassionate about looking the other way and letting violence against people of all walks of life continue. These dangerous crimes are not being committed because of homelessness — they’re being committed by criminals who are allowed to flourish without any repercussions."

The legislation seeks to have the park acquired by the county and repurposed as a space for the courthouse. The bill also requests that people living in the park be connected to other housing options.

The legislation comes after a fatal stabbing at the park last week. The suspect, Michael A. Sedejo, was arrested earlier in the year for an assault and robbery at the same park. His bail is currently set at $2 million, according to the attorney's office.

Another violent incident occurred over Memorial Day weekend, when a resident's 14-year-old dog was kicked to death by someone living in the homeless encampment at the park. The case sparked outrage after Judge Marcus Naylor refused to hold the suspect, Courtney J. Williams, on $25,000 bail. Williams was released just a day after his arrest, a move that was objected to by both law enforcement and court services who said he was a danger to the community.

Two felony charges have been filed against the suspect, and charging documents show that the suspect had been contacted by Seattle Police in the past several months for increasingly aggressive and destructive behavior although he has no current criminal convictions.

This is not the first time officials have raised safety concerns about the park. In 2019, two entrances to the courthouse on Third Avenue were ordered to temporarily close following an attack on a public defender. Later in the year, the King County Council approved $600,000 in emergency funding to increase security measures at the courthouse, including hiring more screeners and having two deputies to provide on-street security.

"The safety conditions at the 3rd Avenue entrance to the courthouse have deteriorated," King County Superior Court Judge James E. Rogers said in 2019. "This court receives constant reports of assaults committed against litigants, jurors, attorneys, members of the public and employees."

If the legislation is approved, the county would have to report back to the council on the condemnation process by Sept. 1, 2021.