This week, I joined community members, labor leaders, law enforcement, and Mayors across the state to testify in Olympia on police reform. One key aspect of police accountability is changing the police disciplinary process, specifically arbitration.
Our accountability system for law enforcement does not work when an officer who violates policy is terminated by the Police Chief or Sheriff – only to be reinstated by an arbitrator on appeal. In these cases, arbitrators sometimes look at different evidence, conduct a new hearing and supplant the judgment and discipline decisions of the Chief or Sheriff. In Seattle and across the nation, the appeals process has provided uncertainty in discipline, undermines public trust, and undermines a Chief’s ability to maintain accountability in a department.
A Washington Post analysis of 1,881 officers fired by the nation’s largest police departments from 2006-2017 found that “departments have been forced to reinstate more than 450 officers after appeals required by police union contracts.” A recent analysis by Stephen Rushin found that arbitrators on appeal reduced or overturned police officer discipline in 52 percent of these cases. In 46 percent of these cases, arbitrators ordered police departments to rehire previously terminated officers
States like Minnesota have made statewide changes to arbitration, so for months, I have been working with legislators, labor leaders, and community members on changing state law. SB 5055 and SB 5134 both propose changes to the discipline appeals process for instances when an officer is disciplined for misconduct.
Police perform an important role in our communities. We have seen the bravery of police in our nation’s capitol where an officer gave his life to protect our democracy. With this role come significant powers – the ability to restrict liberty or take life. These powers are sanctioned and exercised on behalf of the state and people, as such they must be subjected to exacting standards and oversight by the state and the people.
If Olympia does not act on arbitration and strengthen the proposal, here are the real consequences: officers terminated or disciplined for significant misconduct will continue to be reinstated. Both the community and other officers will see these results. Community confidence will be diminished, making it more difficult for every officer to do their jobs. Discipline and accountability in Departments will be undermined, making it more difficult to ensure the proper cultures and actions in a department.
Only the state legislature can change the state law to ensure consistency and a uniform standard across the state. There are many key police reform bills in Olympia, which I support, and the City of Seattle will closely follow progress on key issues like independent investigations, demilitarization, and use of force standards.
SFD Mobile Vaccination Teams to Vaccinate Adult Family Homes Not Served by the Federal Partnership with CVS/Walgreens
City’s Goal to Vaccinate Nearly 1,000 Adult Family Home Residents and Staff Within Next Two Weeks
Mayor Jenny A. Durkan announced new City of Seattle actions to support vaccination efforts in Seattle and Washington state. On January 9, 2021, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) approved the City to serve as a vaccine distributor, meaning the City is eligible to receive weekly shipments of vaccine from DOH and can administer vaccine to Seattle residents and workers. Following this approval, the Seattle Fire Department (SFD) will quickly launch two mobile vaccination teams to vaccinate nearly 1,000 residents and staff at Adult Family Homes (AFHs) within the next two weeks.
Following a year focused on helping the City of Seattle respond to the COVID-19 crisis, Mayor Jenny A. Durkan’s Innovation Advisory Council announced the first round of projects for 2021, bringing innovation and data expertise to the City’s priorities of supporting Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities, homelessness, affordability, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
From 2018-2020, the IAC has helped the City of Seattle launch a number of new, innovative projects, including the Affordable Seattle portal, where residents can check their eligibility for over 20 City programs in less than five minutes; an updated, data-driven app for outreach to Seattle’s unsheltered population and help them more quickly and easily access shelter and services; and a brand-new, first of its kind affordable housing search app, built natively on the Zillow housing search platform.
With growing concerns regarding the long-term value of fossil fuel investments, Seattle Mayor Jenny A. Durkan sent a letter to the Seattle City Employees’ Retirement System Board (SCERS) urging them to divest from fossil fuel commodities and companies. The Seattle City Employees’ Retirement System (SCERS) stewards over $3.2 billion in Seattle employees retirement funds, and is required by state law to invest its resources in a diverse portfolio while maintaining a fiduciary responsibility of fulfilling obligations to the System’s beneficiaries.
Mayors of some three-dozen U.S. cities have asked the incoming Biden administration to send COVID-19 vaccine shipments directly to them, bypassing state governments, saying local officials were best positioned to ramp up lagging inoculations.
The move came as Biden, who takes office on Wednesday, readies a $1.9 trillion stimulus package proposal intended to bolster the nation’s response to the virus and galvanize the slow rollout of COVID-19 vaccines
“While it is essential to work with state and local public health agencies, healthcare providers, pharmacies, and clinics, there is a need to be nimble and fill gaps that are unique to each local area,” said the letter from 37 mayors, including those of New York City, Los Angeles and Seattle.
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