Earlier this evening, the Department of Justice filed a motion for a temporary restraining order to prevent the Seattle Police Department from implementing the City Council’s ban on crowd-control weapons. This follows Judge James Robart’s refusal earlier this week to prevent the ordinance from taking effect this weekend. UPDATE: in a hearing this evening, Judge Robart indicated that he will be granting the DOJ’s request, enjoining implementation of the Council’s ordinance, and rolling the status quo back to the order that Judge Richard Jones made on June 12. UPDATE 2: here is the temporary restraining order. UPDATE 3: added Mayor …
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Judge Robart leaves Council’s ban on crowd-control weapons in place, for now
In a nine-page ruling this afternoon, U.S. District Court Judge James Robart declined to stop the City Council’s ban on crowd-control weapons from going into effect later this week — at least for the moment. Robart did acknowledge that the ordinance will need to be reconciled with SPD’s court-approved policies on crowd control and use of force, but at the urging of the Office of Police Accountability and Office of the Inspector General he will wait until they provide their recommendations next month before wading into that issue.
Continue reading“Defunding SPD” is going to be a lot harder than anyone thinks
Yesterday’s acknowledgement by the city that the Council’s ban on “less lethal” weapons violated the terms of the 2012 Consent Decree points to a much larger issue: efforts to “defund” and re-imagine the Seattle Police Department will face a complex web of legal, labor, and contractual impediments that will drag out the process for several months or possibly years.
Continue readingOrdinance banning “less lethal” devices violates Consent Decree, says DOJ and police monitor
In an official notice filed with the U.S. District Court, today the City of Seattle acknowledged that it has been advised by the Department of Justice and the court-appointed police monitor that on June 15th when the City Council passed a sweeping ban on most “less lethal” devices used for crowd control (including tear gas and blast balls), it violated the Consent Decree.
Continue readingUnderstanding the Seattle Police Department Budget
The past month has brought calls for dramatic reductions to police departments budgets, including here in Seattle. In order to make sense of those demands, it’s important for us to understand how police departments request and spend their budgets. Here is a deep dive of the SPD budget, with a historical perspective, breakdowns from a number of different angles, a look at Mayor Durkan’s proposed 2020 cuts (as well as her early thoughts on next year’s budget), and some of the principles behinds calls to “defund the police.”
Continue readingHow much of SPD’s budget did the Mayor propose to cut?
It sounds like a straightforward question: in Mayor Durkan’s proposed “rebalancing” budget released yesterday, how much of SPD’s 2020 budget would be cut? But the devil is in the details.
Continue readingMayor publishes revised 2020 budget proposal
This afternoon, the Mayor’s Office released its proposed “rebalanced” 2020 city budget, accounting for the expected revenue shortfall as well as hefty expenses for responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Continue readingCHOP: a tragedy of errors, now entering its final act
After a weekend of late-night violence in the CHOP, today Mayor Jenny Durkan and SPD Chief Carmen Best signaled that their hands-off approach to the protest area on Capitol Hill is changing, and “it’s time for people to go home.” It’s been nearly a month since George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer, surrounded by other officers who stood by and did nothing. The ensuing weeks here in Seattle — the protests, the violent police response, the looting and destruction, the abandoning of the East Precinct, and the occupation of a small section in the heart of Capitol …
Continue readingTemporary restraining order on crowd-control weapons extended to September 30 by mutual agreement
Today, by mutual agreement of the attorneys representing Black Lives Matter and the City of Seattle, the temporary restraining order issued by Judge Richard Jones last Friday was converted into a preliminary injunction that will be in place until September 30th.
Continue readingIs the city responding to 911 calls in the CHOP?
Last night and this morning, there were various (often conflicting) reports on social media about a possible burglary in the CHOP (formerly known as the CHAZ) area on Capitol Hill that is the site of an ongoing occupation and protest. There has also been conflicting information about whether first-responders have been told not to enter the CHOP if the city receives a 911 call from there. I asked the Mayor’s Office what SPD and SFD have been instructed to do if the city receives a 911 call from the CHOP. Below is their full response.
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