McGinn announces major reforms for Seattle police
The city is proposing a sweeping and ambitious package of reforms in response to a scathing federal report on the Seattle Police Department following a series of high-profile incidents involving minorities.
By Mike Carter, Seattle Times staff reporter, 3/29/2012

Mayor Mike McGinn and Police Chief John Diaz have announced a sweeping and ambitious package of reforms in response to a scathing federal report on the Seattle Police Department following a series of high-profile incidents involving minorities.

The 20 proposed reforms are aimed at "supporting a just and effective police force," McGinn said during a news conference Thursday morning at Seattle City Hall. The changes are to be implemented over the next 20 months, he said.

McGinn, Diaz and Mike Sanford, the department's assistant chief of operations, said the reforms fall under five major categories: Protecting constitutional rights; training for Seattle's values; earning public trust; using data-driven practices; and partnering with the public.

Among the areas addressed in the initiatives are ensuring officers prevent low-level offenses from escalating; preventing biased policing; training new officers so they understand the history and culture of Seattle; ensuring that all officer use-of-force incidents are reported; community outreach; changing the way officers manage public demonstrations, including limiting the use of pepper spray; and developing a binding code of ethics for officers.

"These initiatives reflect the values of our city," Diaz said. "The people of Seattle deserve a police department that is effective and just."

The changes are aimed at addressing many of the issues cited in a U.S. Department of Justice report that concluded the Police Department's officers have engaged in a "pattern and practice" of excessive force. The Justice Department's investigation also uncovered troubling evidence of biased policing, but lacked the data to find a pattern.

McGinn, in a statement, said the proposed police initiatives "go far beyond a response to the Department of Justice report," and address concerns in the community that go back years. He promised the changes would be "lasting and sustainable" and pledged to hold Diaz and his command staff accountable.

Many of the initiatives contain an element of community involvement, from hiring to training to setting a new policy for use of force. McGinn said he "expects the community to be a full partner with us."

McGinn issued his "vision for the future" two days after members of the City Council sent the mayor a letter expressing disappointment that an effort to collaborate on police reforms had failed.

While McGinn credited his meetings with the council as being helpful, Councilman Bruce Harrell ² who heads the council committee that oversees police ² said the mayor's plan was put together "without any real input from the City Council."

"One of my concerns is that this is a very top-down plan," Harrell said. "I think we were hoping for a more holistic approach."

Still, Harrell called the plan a "good template" that will involve negotiations with the Justice Department, City Council for funding and likely the Seattle Police Officers' Guild.

The Justice Department's 11-month investigation was launched at the request of the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington and nearly three dozen minority community groups following the fatal shooting of a First Nations woodcarver by a Seattle police officer, and other high-profile incidents with citizens.

The 41-page report said the Justice Department investigation found "deficiencies in SPD's training, policies and oversight" and that "starting from the top, SPD supervisors often fail to meet their responsibility to provide oversight of the use of force" by officers. The report, released Dec. 16, concluded that one of every five instances of force by Seattle officers violates the Constitution's protections against illegal search and seizure.

In releasing the findings, Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez, head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, said the department's practices to assure accountability and public trust are "broken" and that the only sure fix is through court-ordered, long-term reform and an outside special monitor to oversee it.

Diaz and McGinn initially reacted to the report with skepticism. Diaz questioned the methodology used by the Justice Department, saying he and his commanders examined the same data and did not reach the same conclusions. However, a few days after the release of the report McGinn ordered Diaz to immediately begin carrying out department reforms. McGinn also said he would convene a public review panel to oversee the city's response to the report.

One of the sticking points with McGinn and police, sources have told The Times, is whether there is a need for court oversight of the changes recommended by the Justice Department.

Kathleen Taylor, executive director of the ACLU of Washington, said the organization was encouraged by the proposed reforms.

"We urge the City to speedily negotiate a consent decree with the DOJ that will include a monitor and court oversight," Taylor said in a news release. "Seattle cannot solve the longstanding problems of SPD culture and accountability without that assistance. A consent decree is critical to ensure that reforms are thoroughly implemented and are sustained for the long term."

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