Seattle police reform could backslide if steps not taken, critics say Jul 15, 2019 at 5:36 pm

Ever since First Nations woodcarver John Williams was fatally shot by Seattle Police in 2010, the police have been trying to prove to a federal judge that they have reformed. But critics say Mayor Jenny Durkan and the Seattle Police Officers Guild have made that goal harder to achieve.

At a press conference on the steps of the Federal Courthouse Monday, Seattle City Councilmember Lorena González shared a letter outlining steps she says should help bring Seattle in conformance with a federal consent decree. Those steps included renegotiating limited parts of the Seattle Police union contract and listening more closely to the advice of the local Community Police Commission. Union Contract Regarding the union contract, González was adamant that "asking for additional police reform is fundamentally not anti-cop or anti-labor." She said that, as a labor-friendly council member, she was not seeking to blow up the contract. But rather, she, along with Councilmembers Lisa Herbold and Teresa Mosqueda, were asking the union to voluntarily come back to the table. If the union refuses, they asked the mayor to set new expectations now for the next round of negotiation in 2020, so that the federal judge could see the promise of future progress.

Andre Taylor, founder of Not This Time, agreed with this approach and said the process of negotiating with the union should be one of give and take. “In 2018, when they [The Seattle Police Officers Guild] were asking for a pay increase... we said absolutely, SPOG should have a pay increase," Taylor said. "But we were asking for accountability back then. We agreed with their pay increase, but now they’re disagreeing with accountability. And that’s problematic.” A spokesperson for SPOG declined to comment.

Credit: KUOW Photo/Joshua McNichols