How much political power does SPOG even have at this point? Hopefully the admin won't puss out during their next contract, and can get some good language about disciplinary action and conduct in there.

And a rule barring O'Neil from being President of SPOG. That guys is a dick.

I can see a rainbow of freedom from my window right now.

It's saying stand up for liberty and justice for all, not just cops and rich white folks.

@1 SPOG has not one inch more power than the Council is willing to give them, because they can simply refuse to sign a new contract without x conditions. The problem is in part Burgess, who is ex-SPD and is usually their champion. As long as things aren't done that can be seen as legally bad faith or union-busting, the city certainly can (and should) play hardball for concessions. Other cities do this; no reason we can't.

And personally, most of us could care less what the cops believe. We just want discipline to be independent of the SPD itself--utterly independent--and we want to make sure the system is setup so that the bottom 0.005% or so of problem cops are gone. I can't believe that the other 99%+ or 1330-1340 of 1350 total cops can't be on board for that. If the loose cannon choking and kicking cops were gone, the other 1340 wouldn't have to deal with all this bullshit.

Birk is an anomaly--cops aren't gunning us down. This one was a tragic fluke, but there are enough bad apples that are ruining things for the other cops. The outstanding 1330-1340 cops should stand up for themselves and drum the assholes from their ranks. You guys know most of us love having you all around; it's the handful of misfits that O'neill shields that we can't have anymore. They and he are making your lives unhappy. Why don't you ask O'neill why he does that?

How about McGinn just opens up the next union contract negotiations with: 20% pay cut, no pension or health care bennies, mandatory overtime. You know, like EVERY OTHER EMPLOYER STARTS UNION NEGOTIATIONS!

Let them know right off the bat that they are nothing more than a necessary evil, and will be treated accordingly. If they don't like it, let the murdering bigots get jobs with Blackwater - Xe, like the rest of their ilk does. No socialist unions there to worry about!

Joe (can I call you Joe?) -

Exactly.

Being who I am, I look at everything through a political spectrum. SPOG endorsed Rossi, Bush, Mallahan, Rosencrantz...they just don't seem to have to GOTV power that so many think they do.

It is almost a shame that there are no credible candidates willing to take on Burgess. Looking at the panhandler's ordinance, and O'Brien's "Burgess is the law and order expert" stance was troubling, but then having O'Brien switch gives me hope.

@3, well said!

I can't really believe I'm saying this, but McGinn is finally doing something right by calling the union out.

The City needs to start requiring that its police live within the City. The values of officers who live in Arlington and Puyallup and Enumclaw simply do not correlate with those of us who pay their salaries. If we need to provide some kind of affordable housing subsidy (City provides a second mortgage at low interest that is repaid on sale), fine. We spend a HUGE amount of our tax money on these folks. Sure, there may be relatively few bad apples, but they should not be in any position to set the tone for (or intimidate) the rest.

Maybe Washington needs to pass a series of anti-union laws. Right to work and all that. Since unions are the root of all our troubles.

SPOG IS A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION.

Somebody just called this a fluke. That's incredible. You must live in a video game. That guy is dead. A system of cops reinforcing the machismo of gun-culture created a guy who thought it was OK to pull a guy and start shooting a fellow human being for not immediately obeying him and his badge. That shit is fucked up you idiot. The idea that the police are going to self-police their ranks is the dumbest goddamn thing I have ever heard.

I'm with Joe. Well said! It it were up to those hanging off the left limb, all cops would not be white, have cameras on their heads, and hand out lollipops for a lickin in reverse. This city is gutless, pro-union, socialist, head-in-the-sand, wrist-slapping wimps who deserve a first-hand taste of the criminals the cops have to deal with every day.

And let's face it, the city council mouths are going to say whatever they think will get the voted in. Hypocrites, gutless hippies like conlin, licata need to move on to "greener" pastures and pet their chickens and artists.

Graffiti, car thefts, gangs, potholes, electrifying light poles - blame the council and the unions as they reach behind each other to pat backs.