Seattle Forward

North Precinct: We Listened

We listened. Based on what we have heard from a wide variety of community members, and the Council’s review of the cost projections, we want to take another look at the component parts of the building and even redesign some of them in an effort to lower the cost. Sometimes it is important to pause and reconsider a decision. That’s what we’re doing here with this project.

A new precinct building for our police officers serving north Seattle must be constructed. The current facility is not suitable and needs to be replaced. But, by taking a closer look at the design and the various parts of the proposed building we may be able to substantially lower costs as many Seattleites have encouraged us to do. For example, maybe the training center doesn’t need to be as large. While the community space in the building is important, perhaps it too can be resized in an effort to lower costs.

This building has the potential to be more than just a new precinct station. The training center and community rooms are critically important in our work to build connections between our police officers and our communities. And, this new precinct is designed to last for as long as 50 years, an important consideration given the current and expected future growth of Seattle.

Why I Support Building a New Police Facility in North Seattle

The City Council will vote this afternoon on legislation advancing the proposed new police facility in north Seattle at the intersection of 130th and Aurora Avenue North and requiring additional cost analysis and community review.

Here are the reasons I support moving forward with this project.

The current police precinct for North Seattle, located across from North Seattle Community College, is grossly overcrowded and can no longer meet the needs of the police department. We have known this since 1998 when the precinct was overcrowded by a factor of 30%. Today, it is overcrowded by 65%. One of the most significant problems with

Mourning

This week has been difficult for me to process. On Tuesday and Wednesday, two more black men, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, were shot and killed by police officers in Louisiana and Minnesota. As I struggle to balance my emotional reactions to these tragedies with the need to let the investigations take their course, I cannot ignore one fact: people of color in our country, particularly black men, keep getting shot by police officers. This is not a new phenomenon, but with the widespread use of video technology, all Americans can see it now with their own eyes.

Then last night we watched in horror as a targeted hate crime was carried out against Dallas police officers who were simply doing their job to protect peaceful protesters. Once again, gun violence destroyed families and ripped communities apart.

At the same time as the Dallas attack, our Seattle police officers escorted and protected peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters on our streets. It is no secret tensions exist between the police and communities of color, but that does not stop our officers from providing this fundamental protection of democracy. It does not stop them from patrolling our neighborhoods day and night to keep all of us safe. These officers deserve our respect and gratitude and, in the aftermath of last night’s terror, our encouragement and support. They also deserve to be held to a high standard of behavior. I believe strong support and robust accountability go hand in hand.

Moving forward, let us continue the hard work of restoring relationships between our police officers and all our communities, for the sake of everyone’s safety. Let’s make certain that we continue forward with our reforms of the police department, strengthen civilian control and oversight, and keep building public trust and confidence in our officers.

The Importance of Naming

Sometimes it is important to identify things, to name them, to call them out. Naming allows us to remember. It gives us a reference point, focuses our attention.

The Orlando attack very early in the morning on June 12 on Pulse, a gay nightclub, is one of those times. It was hate aimed at a specific population, our sisters and brothers in the LGBTQ and Latino communities. The man who committed this horrific hate crime killed 49 people and injured dozens more.

Hate crimes target LGBTQ people more than any other group. The New York Times reported last week that the FBI

The Long Road to Effective Management of Our Police Department

When Kathy O’Toole assumed command of the Seattle Police Department in June, 2014, she inherited a police department rife with staggering management challenges. For years, ineffective management had led to inconsistent practices, a lack of accountability, very poor tracking of resource deployments, out-of-date technology systems in need of dramatic overhaul, and a stagnant management culture highly resistant to change.

To put it bluntly, our police department was a mess, redeemed only in part by the individual efforts of officers and civilian employees who continued to do their jobs as best they could. Chief O’Toole has taken steps to build a stronger, more effective management environment, but it’s going to take a long time to right this ship.

The City Council recently received a report commissioned by Chief O’Toole to determine proper police staffing and deployment levels. Chief O’Toole delivered the study to the Council with this cover letter.

At a very high level, the study concludes we should hire an additional 61 to 93 officers above the Mayor’s 2014 commitment to hire 100 net new officers, which aligns with the Mayor’s more recent announcement of an additional net 100 officers by 2019. The report provides good context and helpful comparisons to other cities that will lay the groundwork for specific actions by SPD leadership.

The report also raises some important policy questions we must answer as a city:

New Police Command Staff

Chief O’Toole has taken a significant step toward rebuilding the public’s trust and confidence in our Police Department in the hiring of four new assistant police chiefs and a new chief technology officer.

It’s a bold step. A very correct step.

In December 2013, Councilmember Harrell and I introduced legislation lifting a 35-year ban on the hiring of police commanders from outside the police department.

We introduced that ordinance because we wanted the Chief of Police to be able to recruit the best possible candidates for these very important positions – from inside or outside the department. Lifting the ban on external candidates was a necessary legislative step toward the reform we want . . . reform that results in effective policing, fair and professional policing, constitutional policing.

Chief O’Toole has wisely balanced knowledgeable inside candidates with proven leaders from other departments and the private sector.

My colleagues and I are convinced that with strong leadership at the top, our police officers will meet our expectations. They will serve with distinction. They will protect our neighborhoods, our people and property.

There is much yet to do, but with Chief O’Toole’s leadership, with the leadership of these new commanders, I believe we will continue to make great progress toward the policing we all want for Seattle.

Looking Upstream

The following article was sent out in my City View Newsletter, which you can sign up to receive here.

President Obama announced a new initiative today—Invest in US—to raise awareness about the value of early learning. The president made the announcement at a White House Summit on Early Learning that Mayor Murray, King County Executive Dow Constantine and I are attending. 

The Summit includes a variety of national experts discussing the critical importance of child development in the first five years of life. What I’ve heard so far has reinforced my belief that we can overcome poverty and close the opportunity gap for our children of color. I make this point in a piece published earlier today by The Stranger. We know what to do. We must continue to build the political will to do it.

Reflections on Ferguson and Seattle

The following article was posted today on Crosscut.

It has been just over a week since the grand jury made its decision in the Ferguson case, my hope is that we can soon get beyond the conflicting evidence presented to the jurors and focus on the undeniable and powerful subtext that permeates this story. Understanding this subtext holds the key to the change I believe we all want to see. We must also identify specific actions that will contribute to this change or risk losing an opportunity to move forward.

Among African Americans, tension and conflict with the police is deeply rooted in decades of mistrust and weariness over police misconduct, corruption and persistent crime in many neighborhoods. It is a relationship that is profoundly troubled and, as we have seen, all too often leads to tragic consequences.

Tragic for black men and boys who are arrested and imprisoned or killed by police at a disproportionate rate. Tragic for black families who often live in neighborhoods with high rates of crime and who urgently desire effective police services. Tragic for entire cities that must carry the moral and monetary costs of this reality.

How did we get here? And, looking forward, what can we do to change it?

Feds Reinforce Urgent Need for Change in SPD

Two communications from federal officials over the past week reinforced for me the urgent need for change in the leadership ranks of the Seattle Police Department. I know Mayor Murray shares this view and he has taken bold and decisive steps in recent months to initiate change, but the selection of the next permanent police chief will be the most important of all.

The new chief will set the tone for the entire department and will face enormous challenges and opportunities to change the way SPD operates.

On Monday, Merrick Bobb, the federal monitor overseeing our reform efforts, sent a 10-page memorandum to city officials about a new police data management system that must be implemented before the City can achieve compliance with the federal court-mandated consent decree.

The opening paragraphs of this memorandum are a stunning indictment of current practices and systems:

Sending the Right Signal

The Council’s public safety committee voted today to lift a restriction on the appointment of senior police commanders from outside of the Seattle Police Department. The City Council imposed the restriction way back in 1978, a move that required top commanders to be appointed only from within the Police Department’s ranks.

Allowing the chief to select the best possible candidates from inside or outside the department sends the right signal to our police officers. We expect them to compete for these important leadership positions with the best and the brightest from the around the country. We want them to serve under and learn from the best police commanders available.

It also sends the right signal to police chief candidates. Truly effective and sustainable reform necessitates strong leadership. The legislation passed out of committee today signals that the political leadership of Seattle is serious about reform and moving the department forward. It empowers the next chief to bring whoever she or he feels will best advance effective and constitutional policing practices.

The Council's public safety chair Bruce Harrell and I sponsored this legislation, which will now go to the Full Council for a vote on Monday. If you’re interested in reading more (including a table of other cities' hiring practices), here is a memo with more detail about the bill.