Comments

1
The SPU needs another smackdown from the Feds.

Keep up the good work Ansel.
3
@2 Independence from community oversight? None. We hire them to do a very difficult job and we give them extraordinary power over their fellow citizens (us) to help them do that job. They are answerable directly to us with regard to their performance. Not just to their professional peers, not just to their bosses, and not just to a professional arbitrator. To us, we the people, their citizen peers.
5
@ 2 & 4: did you miss the part of story where civil service processes and protections remain intact and untouched? The DRB is a process that is in addition to normal civil service protections.
7
Ken, the Mayor would appoint one rep out of three, so yes more sway than now, but not enough to control the panel (and you are most certainly right about Mayors...but with one of the appointees from the council and the third from civil service, I think this is far better than the current system).
8
What oversight by the 'community' means in practice is oversight by some elected politician such as city mayor.


And numerous times trivial solutions to this have been proposed. Make an oversight panel of the following composition and format:

1. Nine individuals, four year terms.

2. Three are nominated by the Mayor, with Council approval required.

3. Three are nominated by the Council, with Mayoral approval required.

4. Three are appointed by the police union.

All discipline and oversight is turned over to them. All of it. Give them carte blance to launch independent investigations, discipline, etc., if 5 of the 9 members agree it's needed. Simple majority for decisions, which are binding.

You'll need a streamlined appeals process.

The Mayor's office still sets policing priorities through the Chief. The Council still decides law. The union protects it's members, and the police execute policy as handed down to them by the Mayor and Council.

Something like this.
9
Well, dozens of Civil Service Commissions exist around the state and work fine; why would Seattle be any different?
10
If only The Stranger was a Union shop, then they might understand how collective bargaining works. At some point in the past, the city elected during negotiations to allow this new discipline review board to be created in lieu of the civil service review board like most other cities. Now the Union is not going to unilaterally give it up without extracting some concession or benefit in exchange, and they're being an obstacle.

How do you think unions and collective bargaining works?!
11
So it's naïve to think that people selected by the mayor and/or the chief can be objective, but not naïve to think that an officers colleagues can be objective?

Should have nailed Ron to the wall with that question.
12
The Cops AREN'T like everyone else. They've made that point over and over again.

In the real world, a private citizen would probably not be punished for punching someone who spit on them. So I understand why an officer would want to be vindicated. But, you know, we as a society give the police special training, special tools, even special rights, pay for their homes and in general support their families in exchange for doing police work. For this, we need to hold them to a HIGHER standard.

Right now the logic is circular: "Police are held to a higher standard than everyone else. So in exchange, we wish to be held to the same standard as regular people, but do not want to retain all our special rights as well"

Please wait...

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