Tense moments during Seattle City Council meeting over proposed new police precinct

The Seattle City Council voted Monday to approve a resolution over a proposed new police precinct in North Seattle that could cost up to $149 million.

The meeting at Seattle City Hall was interrupted by protesters several times.

About half-way through the public comment period, chaos unfolded when security guards tried to keep several people from getting inside the already packed council chambers. They had been watching the meeting in a overflow room downstairs.

"Why are you blocking the door?" one person was heard asking. "Let them in. This is a public building."

"There are 125 people downstairs and they're coming in right now. Don't make the mistake again of building a building that doesn't allow people," another person stated.

Council President Bruce Harrell found himself in the middle of the crowd while trying to explain why some people weren't being allowed in.

"Hold on. Hold on. We just have a fire code problem. We just have a fire code problem. So, what I'm trying to tell you..." Harrell told the crowd before being interrupted.

The meeting was shut down for several minutes. It resumed after guards let the rest of the crowd in.

"I saw a lot of things I don't ever hope to see in a council meeting again," one council member said after the meeting resumed.

Supporters of the proposed new police precinct say it's desperately needed. Built more than 30 years ago, the building is too small, it lacks parking for officers, it doesn't have interview rooms and it often floods, police said.

"North Seattle is 40 percent of the entire population of this city. This facility is needed," one woman testified during a Council meeting in early August.

Opponents question why the city would spend so much money on a department that's undergoing court-ordered reforms. They also believe the money would be better spent on other important matters, like homelessness and helping those battle drug addiction, they said.

"In order to build this, they need to come to communities they serve and start from scratch," said project opponent Tanisha Anderson. "Crime isn't going to go down by adding more police. You're just having more people arrested. That's it."

After a lengthy meeting and an attempt to delay a decision until mid-September, the Council passed a resolution to move the process forward. The resolution directs the city to conduct a racial-equity analysis of the facility's design and take a harder look at the project's cost. It doesn't mean the new precinct is a done deal, Councilmember Rob Johnson told KOMO News after the meeting.

"We need many of you engaged in the process. We have work to do on our end to built trust," said Councilmember Mike O'Brien.

"I think it was expected, but also very disconcerting because we vote to keep these people in power, to have their jobs. And yet even after listening to us for hours, they still chose to vote exactly how the planned to vote before," said Anderson.

Project opponents told KOMO News after the meeting adjourned that they aren't giving up. They plan to voice their concerns at future Council meetings and reach out to the community.