Seattle officials ‘hit the reset button’ on marijuana tickets; suggest those fined get refunds

Seattle police and prosecutors are starting over and planning a new strategy to enforce the law against using marijuana in public. This time it will be a plan that doesn’t involve writing tickets.

The police officer who issued 80 percent of the dozens of citations so far this year has admitted he was motivated by politics. Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes will ask the court Tuesday to dismiss the tickets written by Randy Jokela and all the rest, too.

“We might as well toss all tickets, and effectively, as I used the metaphor, ‘hit the reset button,'” said Holmes.

In a briefing to the City Council, Holmes said he is moving to dismiss 100 tickets issued by the Seattle Police Department between Jan. 1 and July 31.

Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole asked Holmes to drop the tickets Jokela issued, but Holmes told the council he intends to drop all of them, saying it would be easier procedurally and would make for cleaner data as the city tracks the enforcement of the legal marijuana law.

Holmes also said educating the public about what the law allows is more important than collecting fines.

Assistant Police Chief Nick Metz has a new directive. He wants police to issue verbal warnings, focusing on education, not punishment.

But cops will still have the option to write a ticket, where in Seattle, the fine is set at $27, equivalent to the penalty for drinking alcohol in public.

“I think it’s good for officers to start with explaining to people – particularly those from out of town that may not know the rules, or the laws, here – that it is illegal to consume,” said Metz. “Give (them) that warning.”

Metz will give cops a detailed, written description of what they are authorized to do, noting that just eight warnings about using pot in public have been issued in the last three weeks. That’s after the ticket writing blitz by officer Jokela came to light.

About one-third of the tickets were issued to blacks, who make up about 8 percent of Seattle’s population. Many also went to homeless residents; 40 percent of those cited listed addresses at transitional housing facilities. Councilmembers say they are concerned about those numbers and want to keep tabs on who is being cited under the law.

“I think some officers might have been a bit apprehensive on how to enforce this. It’s our job to make sure they clearly understand what is expected of them and what they are authorized to do,” said Metz.

As for the people who got tickets in the first seven months of the year and paid them, Holmes wants them to get a refund.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.