Spokane council to vote on noise-emitting devices to deter loiterers

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) -- The Spokane City Council will vote Monday on a law that would ban devices that emit a disruptive sound to discourage loiterers who congregate outside downtown businesses.

City Councilwoman Kate Burke tells the Spokesman Review that the devices are inherently discriminatory because they are used mostly against homeless people and youth who loiter in the city's center.

But businesses are upset by the proposed ban on the high-frequency devices and say their properties have been harmed by large groups that congregate in the area.