SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL - Record No: CB 120549

• Record No: CB 120549
• Version: 3
• Council Bill No: CB 120549
• Type: Ordinance (Ord)
• Status: Passed
• Current Controlling Legislative Body: City Clerk
• On agenda: 5/9/2023
• Ordinance No: Ord 126814
• Title: AN ORDINANCE relating to the City's criminal code; amending the crime of Obstructing a Public Officer to include obstructing firefighters and fire department personnel; and amending Section 12A.16.010 of the Seattle Municipal Code.
• Sponsors: Lisa Herbold, Andrew Lewis
• Supporting documents: 1. Summary and Fiscal Note, 2. Central Staff Memo, 3. Amendment 1 (added 4/25/23), 4. Amendment 1 v2 (added 4/25/23), 5. Proposed Amendment A (added 5/9/23), 6. Proposed Amendment B (added 5/9/23), 7. Proposed Amendment C (added 5/9/23), 8. Signed Ordinance 126814, 9. Affidavit of Publication

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result
5/17/2023	3	City Clerk	attested by City Clerk
5/17/2023	3	Mayor	returned
5/17/2023	3	Mayor	Signed
5/11/2023	3	City Clerk	submitted for Mayor's signature
5/9/2023	2	City Council	passed as amended	Pass
4/25/2023	1	Public Safety and Human Services Committee	pass as amended	Pass
4/18/2023	1	City Council	referred
4/17/2023	1	Council President's Office	sent for review
4/14/2023	1	City Clerk	sent for review

CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
title
AN ORDINANCE relating to the City's criminal code; amending the crime of Obstructing a Public Officer to include obstructing firefighters and fire department personnel; and amending Section 12A.16.010 of the Seattle Municipal Code.
body
WHEREAS, the Seattle Fire Department (SFD) employs almost 1200 personnel, including over 900 uniformed personnel of which over 200 respond daily to emergencies across Seattle; and
WHEREAS, all SFD Firefighters are also certified Emergency Medical Technicians, and over 60 of these Firefighters have completed rigorous specialized training and serve the department as Firefighter/Paramedics; and
WHEREAS, SFD delivered 92,233 service responses in 2021 and 106,453 in 2022, including emergency fire suppression, rescue, and medical response; and
WHEREAS, SFD response exposes SFD personnel to such hazards as structural fires, vehicle fires, explosions, electrical hazards, chemical hazards, structural collapse, and infectious disease; and
WHEREAS, the additional risk to SFD personnel of intentional interference by a member of the public, also known as obstruction, is not tolerable given the life-or-death nature of the services they perform and monitor to protect the public; and
WHEREAS, the Seattle Municipal Code provides protection from obstruction to police officers and to certain other City employees who are carrying out their duties to protect the public; and
WHEREAS, the City wishes to extend this protection to SFD personnel; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF SEATTLE AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 12A.16.010 of the Seattle Municipal Code, last amended by Ordinance 117158, is amended as follows:
12A.16.010 Obstructing a public officer
A. A person is guilty of obstructing a public officer if, with knowledge that the person obstructed is a public officer, he or she:
1. Intentionally and physically interferes with a pub...