Seattle police released dashcam videos of the shootings the same day they took place.
Seattle police released dashcam videos of the shootings the same day they took place. SPD

Two Officer-Involved Shootings Yesterday: "The first confrontation happened just before 3 a.m.," KING 5 reports. "A security guard at a downtown building called police about a man with what appeared to be a handgun." Watch:

"The 25-year-old man was taken to Harborview Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries," according to SPD. It turned out he was carrying a realistic-looking pellet gun.

Police received a call about a car prowler in Maple Leaf about two hours later. They repeatedly told the suspect to drop his knife, but he refused. Officers shot and injured him; he too was taken to Harborview. Watch:

The speed with which SPD published these videos is impressive. The full measure of the department's commitment to transparency will depend on whether it quickly publishes video and information about more controversial uses of force.

King County Sheriff John Urquhart Is Concerned About Body Cameras: He tells the Associated Press that officers need to have the ability to shut off bodycams to keep graphic footage or private information from winding up in the public domain. He's also against an ACLU proposal to only allow bodycam footage to be used in police misconduct cases, rather than as evidence against suspects. Seattle, meanwhile, plans to equip all officers with bodycams by next year.

Do you grow these for medical use? Major changes are coming your way.
Inhale, exhale... Kelly O

West Seattle Medical Marijuana Shop Owner Upset With Attempted City Inspection: A.J. Cornwall, the proprietor of the Better Day Gardens co-operative, says city inspectors showed up unannounced and demanded access to his building. On the advice of his attorney, he told them to come back with a warrant, and they left. "City of Seattle, you've got to stop," says his attorney. "You can't license marijuana, you can't regulate it, you can't tax it, and you can't go and shut these people down. If you want to do that, you have to do it in the criminal courts." The city disagrees.

There's Renewed Momentum for Paid Parental Leave Across Washington: Thanks to a new federal grant, Heidi reports. "Washington's law would have guaranteed parents $250 a week for up to five weeks, costing a total of about $20 million to $30 million a year," but when the legislature enacted the leave policy, it didn't include a way to pay for it.

Fifty-Five Years Ago, Seattle Students Got 90 Minutes for Lunch and Recess: "Members of the local Facebook group Lunch & Recess Matter," reports KUOW's Ann Dornfield, "say what needs to happen now is enforcement of the district’s existing lunch policy, which mandates that kids get 20 minutes to eat."

If You've Been Discriminated Against for Your Criminal History While You Applied for Jobs: Talk to the ACLU or file a complaint with the Seattle Office of Civil Rights. The South Seattle Emerald walks you through how both organizations are fighting employment discrimination and has contact information here.

Seattle Environmentalists and Former Mayor Mike McGinn to the Gates Foundation: "It is simply not okay anymore to say 'we have a duty to profit as much as we can from our investments, regardless of the costs to the rest of society'. Or 'it won’t make a difference anyway'."


Starbucks Workers, Backed by Labor Advocates, Protested Unpredictable Scheduling Yesterday: The $15 minimum wage in Seattle aside, "too many of us who work in coffee and other service jobs still can't count on a fair paycheck—or a stable life—because we can't count on having a fair schedule," says Working Washington. The New York Times reported on Starbucks' scheduling woes here.