(Image: Seattle Parks)

The Seattle Police Department tells CHS it is pausing “directed patrols” at Denny Blaine Park in the wake of outcry of its enforcements efforts around nudity at the popular nude beach.

A spokesperson for the department responded Wednesday as city officials including Mayor Bruce Harrell weighed in on the concerns raised by the weekend police and the park’s longtime use as a nude beach the community.

SPD tells CHS the incident has also been referred to the Office of Police Accountability following a public complaint about the department and officer actions.

CHS reported here on SPD’s clearance of sunbathers from the park Sunday and reported threats of trespass to one park goer who initially refused.

City officials made it clear this week they were not going to stand behind the department on the issue.

Joy Hollingsworth, who represents the area around the park in the District 3 seat on the city council and the chair of the council’s parks committee, told CHS she has been in “active communication” with the Seattle Police Department, Seattle Parks and Recreation, and the Mayor’s Office about the Sunday enforcement, and expressed her concerns over the situation, “underscoring the need for a thoughtful, community-centered approach moving forward.”

Meanwhile, Harrell said Wednesday his office had not “directed a change to SPD patrols or approach to enforcement at Denny Blaine Park.”

“As we’ve said before, Mayor Harrell recognizes that people have a right to use the park nude under State law,” a spokesperson said.

SPD’s enforcement activities at the park followed a new lawsuit from unnamed park neighbors demanding the city address concerns at Denny Blaine over “public masturbation, public sex and other types of indecent exposure, drug use, unlawful public nudity, environmental damage to the shoreline, and scofflaw parking.” The suit all but ends any chance at goodwill and compromise the Friends of Denny Blaine group has been forging. The group has been meeting regularly to find community solutions that also protect the park’s place with queer and nudist communities.

Community group Friends of Denny Blaine continues to seek community solutions. Later this month, it will hold a “Bystander Intervention Training” day at the park with an invitation to park supporters to “learn legal and safe ways to deescalate public indecency.” The training will take place Sunday, May 18th starting at 1:30 PM at Denny Blaine Park.

UPDATE 4:30 PM: The neighborhood group Denny Blaine for All has sent CHS a statement on the situation in advance of the scheduled appearance of SPD Chief Shon Barnes at Wednesday night’s Leschi Community Council meeting.

“Anyone suggesting that nudists can ‘self-police’ is missing the point,” the group says. “No one using the park should be subject to lewd and indecent behavior that is criminal and requires a police response.”

In addition to the statement, the group included two recent photos it says shows photos that encourage “more illegal activity” in the park.

The full statement is below.

“While we appreciate SPD’s recent presence at Denny Blaine Park, more must be done to ensure this small park doesn’t remain a hotspot for public masturbation, indecent exposure, and sex acts in broad daylight. Please see the photos below of signage hung just today in the park. It encourages more of this illegal activity.

“Just last week, multiple incidents of public sex and masturbation occurred—witnessed by parkgoers, reported to authorities, and documented with evidence shared with police. The reality is clear to any reasonable observer: conditions are getting worse.

“Arrest records, court filings, and video evidence tell the real story: this has been an unsafe public space for years. In 2023, a man seen masturbating assaulted another visitor—beating him, dragging him into the water, and yelling homophobic slurs. He was charged with a felony hate crime and awaits trial this month. Court records show he was arrested again just weeks ago—back at Denny Blaine—for masturbation and indecent exposure.

“Anyone suggesting that nudists can ‘self-police’ is missing the point. No one using the park should be subject to lewd and indecent behavior that is criminal and requires a police response.
“These concerns didn’t begin with the lawsuit. The community has raised them for years—met mostly with silence. Since filing, the behavior hasn’t stopped. It’s escalated. And the hostility directed toward neighbors only underscores how difficult and overdue this conversation is.

“We appreciate Chief Barnes’ ongoing commitment to bring basic safety to public spaces for everyone.”

The LCC meeting takes place starting at 7 PM at the Grace United Methodist Church, 722 30th Ave S.

UPDATE 5/8/2025: Chief Barnes has issued a statement using a phrase he might not have expected ever to utter when he took the job leading the Seattle Police Department — “simply being nude at this park is not a crime.”

In his statement, Barnes takes responsibility for the patrol at Denny Blaine and says that decision is being reevaluated. He also expressed his department’s support of marginalized communities and the “historic use” of the park but also said SPD must have no tolerance for “illegal indecent or lewd behavior at the park.”

“As Chief, my direction has been for patrols that are responsive to calls from the community regarding these issues,” Barnes said. “We are reevaluating how to use these patrols to best meet the needs of the community and enforce the law in order to provide public safety for everyone.”

The full statement is below:

The Seattle Police Department is strongly committed to supporting marginalized communities and work every day to make sure they are safe in our city, especially in areas like Denny Blaine Park. We recognize the historic use of this park as an LGBTQIA+ gathering place and nude beach, and we are thoughtful about policing with the context of interactions historically between these communities and the police.

The SPD is committed to supporting all of our communities, listening to their legitimate concerns, and working towards the best, equitable resolutions for every call for service. It’s a balance that we obsessively strive for and will always reevaluate our actions in hopes to learn from them.

Especially in light of historical context, simply being nude at this park is not a crime. That said, we do not have tolerance for illegal indecent or lewd behavior at the park. Every person in the park should feel safe. This is something I have heard from both park users and neighbors. As Chief, my direction has been for patrols that are responsive to calls from the community regarding these issues. We are reevaluating how to use these patrols to best meet the needs of the community and enforce the law in order to provide public safety for everyone.

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