Seattle City Council homes in on Police Department cuts as defunding opponents mobilize

Seattle City Council members are starting to home in on specific cuts to the Police Department as groups advocating for a new approach to public safety continue to apply pressure, and as defunding skeptics start to speak out.

In a remote budget committee meeting Wednesday, multiple council members voiced interest in executing police officer layoffs this year, targeted at units such as the Navigation Team that removes homeless encampments.

Mayor Jenny Durkan is cautioning those council members to slow down for more careful analysis, describing a push to reduce the department’s remaining 2020 budget by 50% as impractical. Yet Durkan is grappling with a recall petition over her response to Black Lives Matter protests and a drive among Democratic Party groups for her to step down, possibly reducing her clout.

“I really don’t know where we’re headed,” said Victoria Beach, who chairs the Police Department’s African American Community Advisory Council, expressing frustration with the mayor and council alike. “I think it’s going to get ugly.”

The protests against police killings and institutional racism have brought intense scrutiny to the Police Department, which began this year with a budget of more than $400 million. Defunding advocates have seized the moment, noting the department mostly responds to noncriminal calls and winning widespread political support for the concept.

Last week, seven of nine council members said they would support a high-level proposal — laid out by the coalitions Decriminalize Seattle and King County Equity Now — to cut police spending by 50% and redirect the money to alternative 911 responders, community services and affordable housing.

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Protests Fuel Push For Increased Access To Police Records

In the days after white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was filmed pressing his knee into the neck of a black man named George Floyd — killing him and sparking nationwide protests — multiple media outlets reported Chauvin had received 18 use-of-force or misconduct complaints over his 19-year career in law enforcement.

The information fueled public fury over police accountability and helped pave the way for a second-degree murder charge against Chauvin, who was fired within 24 hours of the May 25 killing.

But in many states, such a quick release of his personnel file wouldn't have been possible. Public records laws in 18 states exempt officer disciplinary reports and misconduct allegations from disclosure requirements, and another 18 states allow only limited access to that information.

Ed Hutchison, president of the National Police Association, said the organization supports laws that provide records after "a judge has had the opportunity to hear the concerns of the officer and has determined the information is material to the requester."

But he said too much disclosure — especially of complaints that have not been investigated or were found to be false — could incite attacks by "violent opportunists or domestic violent extremists."

"As long as law enforcement remains unique in being the only employment which results in employees being targeted for shootings, stabbings, and being run over with cars simply because of the uniform, states have a unique duty to mitigate targeting of law enforcement officers to the best of their abilities," Hutchison said in a statement to Law360.

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Law enforcement warns of unintended consequences with Colorado Democrats’ sweeping police accountability bill

An inability to recruit officers. Financial burdens small law enforcement agencies can’t handle. Sullied prosecutions.

As Colorado Democrats’ sweeping police accountability bill received its first hearing on Thursday, police, prosecutors and Republican state lawmakers raised concerns about unintended consequences.

“This bill is needed. We agree these types of actions are needed to respond to the compelling interests of the community across this country for policing and the actions of police officers,” said Ron Sloan, director of the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police. “If we’ve got one chance to make this bill as good as we can, we need to clean up some of the issues.”

Senate Bill 217 was introduced on Wednesday in response to George Floyd’s death at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis last week, and it has the support of every Democratic state lawmaker and Gov. Jared Polis. The measure has been lauded as a major step toward stopping excessive use of force and rooting out bad officers as protests in Denver following Floyd’s death reached their eighth day on Thursday.

In fact, as lawmakers were weighing the legislation on Thursday hundreds were gathered outside the Capitol calling for more police accountability.

“Basically what this bill will do is it will help address police brutality in Colorado,” said Sen. Rhonda Fields, an Aurora Democrat and a prime sponsor of the measure. “This bill is calling for equal protection of black lives under the law.”

And while Republicans and the law enforcement community praise parts of the legislation, they fear that the measure is being rushed through too quickly and that problems will arise. They are pleading for changes to add specificity to the bill and limit its broad impact.

“There are things in this bill that are good,” said Sen. Bob Gardner, a Colorado Springs Republican who sat on the committee that heard the legislation Thursday, “but it needs a lot of work to find the right balance.”

Privately, some Democrats express similar concerns as lawmakers attempt to quickly pass the bill during a legislative session abbreviated by the coronavirus crisis. The lawmaking term is slated to wrap up before the middle of the month.

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Honoring the Men and Women in Blue

Every May, thousands of law enforcement officers make their way to Washington, D.C., for National Police Week. It’s an opportunity to spend time with our men and women in blue and to say thank you to them and their families. But due to the challenges of the coronavirus, this year’s Police Week was held virtually. I wish I could have visited with them in person, but I know the communities they serve are grateful, as I am, for all they do every day — and especially during this pandemic.

One of the most somber and moving Police Week traditions is the candlelight vigil held at the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. More than 30,000 officers, family members, and Americans gather at the memorial to hear the names of officers who lost their lives, and to bear witness to their service.

Sadly, three of Missouri’s finest were among the 307 heroes who were memorialized at the 32nd Annual Candlelight Vigil this year: Lakeshire Chief of Police Wayne Neidenberg, North County Police Cooperative Officer Michael Langsdorf, and Springfield Police Officer Christopher Walsh. They will join the more than 20,000 officers whose names are inscribed on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.

Police Week is exactly the time for us to think about these officers and their families and to be inspired to acts of service in their memory. It’s also a time for lawmakers to make sure we’re doing our part to support these brave men and women. As co-chair of the bipartisan Senate Law Enforcement Caucus, I advocate for legislation that supports the efforts of our men and women in blue.

I sponsored the National Law Enforcement Museum Commemorative Coin Act, which became law this year. The proceeds from the sale of coins minted under this law will go to education and outreach about the service and sacrifice of law enforcement officers throughout our country’s history.

Police officers face stressful and dangerous situations every day. That can take a tremendous toll on their mental health and, in too many cases, lead them to take their own lives. Last year, according to estimates by a non-profit that tracks police suicides, more officers lost their lives to suicide than all other line-of-duty deaths combined.

A major challenge to preventing further tragedies is that there is no comprehensive government effort to track suicides and attempted suicides in law enforcement like there is for line-of-duty deaths. I cosponsored bipartisan legislation, which has just passed the Senate, to require the FBI to collect voluntary, anonymous data on police suicides and attempted suicides, which will help inform policy solutions so that law enforcement suicides can be prevented.

When our brave men and women in law enforcement are in a dangerous situation, it’s critical that they are well-trained and have the best equipment available. I’ve cosponsored legislation and supported grant programs that help police departments purchase equipment, conduct training, and hire personnel. Federal programs have helped police departments in Missouri acquire a wide range of equipment – from laptops to protective gear.

As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and co-chair of the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus, I’ll continue working to ensure the federal government does its part to support the men and women who work tirelessly to keep our families and communities safe.

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