Seattle homeless are shooting up on the streets after officials chose NOT to ban public use illegal 

Homeless people have been pictured slumped over in the streets of Seattle and openly shooting up drugs, after the city’s officials chose not to make public drug use illegal.

Earlier this month, the Seattle City Council voted not to pass legislation that would have allowed the City Attorney’s Office to prosecute public drug use cases.

The move would have brought Seattle into compliance with the state’s new drug possession law, which makes the crime a gross misdemeanor.

New pictures show homeless people openly abusing drugs on the streets of the Washington state city. 

In one, a man can be seen using a hypodermic needle to inject drugs into his hand while propped outside a liquor store. 

One man can be seen here openly using a hypodermic needle as he lays on the sidewalk 

Another person is seen here completely spaced out as citizens go about their regular day

The move to ban public use would have brought Seattle into compliance with the state’s new drug possession law, which makes the crime a gross misdemeanor

Others show people spaced out and hunched over on the sidewalks, with paraphernalia strewn around them. 

The council bill failed to pass in a 5-4 vote with councilmembers Alex Pedersen, Sara Nelson, Debora Juarez and Dan Strauss voting in favor of the bill. 

Councilmembers Lisa Herbold, Kshama Sawant, Teresa Mosqueda, Andrew Lewis and Tammy Morales voted in opposition to the bill. 

Pedersen told King5: ‘State law without the local law is like a train without tracks, a car without keys, it’s a pen without ink.

‘You have to have them together or else it’s basically tantamount to decriminalizing.’

Councilmember Nelson told the news channel: ‘We have to do something or the alternative is doing nothing new and that is just unacceptable.’ 

According to the Seattle City Attorney’s Office, there were 589 overdose deaths in Seattle in 2022, up 72% from 2021. 

Seattle Police Officers Guild opposed Seattle City Council’s move, with President Mike Solan saying: ‘It’s going to put our city’s public safety crisis that much more in a dire circumstance. 

Seattle Police Officers Guild President Mike Solan, pictured, slammed the move by lawmakers urging them to make a solution to the problem quickly

Another homeless man is seen here in the Ballard neighborhood of the city which is dealing with high crime rates

‘I think it’s sad for our city moving forward as we’re going to see more loss of life and that’s completely avoidable.

‘The majority of the current city council does not reflect the community’s views regarding our public safety crisis, fueled by fentanyl.

‘This was avoidable, this will hinder our ability to save lives. There needs to be a solution and there needs to be a solution fast.’

It comes after the crime-ridden city lost its downtown Nike flagship store and multiplex movie as the number of homeless people and crime soared. 

The Rain City’s downtown area began to suffer from store closures at the start of this year and in January the popular Nike store, located at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Pike Street, shut its doors for good. 

Overall violent crime has remained persistently high in the city, with 2022 marking the deadliest year for the homeless population in King County, which encompasses Seattle.

The year saw 310 deaths in the homeless community, a 65 percent spike from 2021, including at least 18 homicides and 160 fentanyl-related overdoses, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office.