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Police Reform Complete?
Seattle, federal officials agree to federal changes
By Chris Grygiel
The Associated Press
SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle offi-
cials have agreed to an
independent monitor and court
oversight of the city’s police
department as part of a deal with
the U.S. Justice Department fol-
lowing a report that found officers
routinely used excessive force.
City and federal negotiators
were involved in tense talks over
the scope of a deal for months,
and Justice Department lawyers
had threatened to sue the city if a
deal was not reached by July 31.
``It’s no secret there were a few
bumps in the road to get here,’’
Mayor Mike McGinn said of the
agreement, which was announced
Friday. ``We do have a lot of work
in front of us.’’
The
Justice
Department
launched its civil rights investiga-
tion early last year after the fatal
shooting of a homeless, Native
American woodcarver and other
incidents involving force used
against minority suspects. In
December, a DOJ report found
officers were too quick to reach
for weapons, such as flashlights
and batons, even when arresting
people for minor offenses.
The agreement was announced
at City Hall by McGinn; Jenny
Durkan, U.S. attorney for Seattle,
and Thomas Perez, the Justice
Department’s chief civil rights
enforcer.
The deal also calls for a special
commission, appointed by the
mayor, to concentrate on use of
force issues.
have to change policies and train-
ing concerning ``bias-free’’
policing and stops, and create a
Community Police Commission,
which would be a civilian over-
sight body.
Court oversight would continue
for five years, but the city could
ask to end the scrutiny earlier if it
has complied with the agreements
Talks between Seattle officials and
the Justice Department had been
hung up after city officials initially
balked at some federal proposals for
reform
Talks between Seattle officials
and the Justice Department had
been hung up after city officials
initially balked at some federal
proposals for reform.
The settlement, which must be
approved by a federal judge,
requires the Seattle Police Depart-
ment to revise use of force
policies and enhance training,
reporting, investigation and
supervision for situations involv-
ing use force. Police also would
for two years.
``This city is committed to elim-
inating bias,’’ McGinn said.
Perez said the agreement could
serve as a way to help reduce
crime and increase public confi-
dence in the city’s police officers.
``We must continue to be well
aware of the very raw feelings that
many Seattle residents continue to
have toward the Seattle Police
Department,’’ Perez said.
Surveillance cameras and
police-cruiser
videos had cap-
tured
officers
beating
civilians,
including stomping on
a prone Latino man
who was mistakenly thought to be
a robbery suspect, and an officer
kicking a non-resisting black
youth in a convenience store.
The earlier Justice Department
report found that force was used
unconstitutionally one out of
every five times an officer resort-
ed to it. The department failed to
adequately review the use of force
and lacked policies and training
related to the use of force, it said.
The American Civil Liberties
Union and other community
groups called for scrutiny of the
department after a Seattle officer
shot and killed the woodcarver,
John T. Williams, in 2010.
Video from Officer Ian Birk’s
patrol car showed Williams cross-
ing the street holding a piece of
wood and a small knife, and Birk
exiting the vehicle to pursue him.
Off-camera, Birk quickly shouted
three times for Williams to drop
the knife then fired five shots. The
knife was found folded at the
scene, but Birk later maintained
Williams had threatened him. Birk
resigned from the
force and was not
charged. A review
board found the
shooting unjustified.
Doug
Honig,
spokesman for the American Civil
Liberties Union of Washington
state, was also pleased.
``The city and the DOJ appear to
have taken our concerns about
excessive force, racially biased
policing and flaws in the oversight
system seriously,’’ Honig said.
``The implementation is what’s
going to matter.’’
Since the beginning of 2010, the
Justice Department’s civil rights
division has previously reached
settlements to reform police prac-
tices in New Orleans and in
Warren, Ohio.
It has sued the Maricopa County,
Arizona, sheriff’s office and the
East Haven, Connecticut, police
department for a pattern and prac-
tice of discrimination against
Latinos and Hispanics.
Associated Press writers Gene
Johnson in Seattle and Michael J.
Sniffen in Washington, D.C., con-
tributed to this report.
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Page 10 The Portland Skanner
August 1, 2012
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