The King County courthouse in downtown Seattle is located near the social service centers and several homeless shelters. A tent city has sprung up in the little park outside. There have been several assaults on courthouse employees, and even two attacks on jurors In May and June, leading to citizens summoned for jury duty to voice concerns about their safety, according to a report by RT. 

Judges Laura Inveen and Jim Rogers, backed by King County Sheriff John Urquhart, asked the county to do something about the violence and the fecal matter that continues to pile up, the Seattle Times reported last month. Among their requests was a daily power-wash of the sidewalks, which "reek of urine and excrement."

Bu Councilmember Larry Gossett objected to the measure because power-washing "brought back images of the use of hoses against civil-rights activists," according to the Seattle Times.