Reforms
Chief Kathleen O'Toole and most city officials are on record supporting civilian-recommended accountability reforms—but whether many of them are implemented depends on the outcome of negotiations with the guild, which claims it's "under attack" by Black Lives Matter Activists. Alex Garland

The Seattle Times' Steve Miletich has the scoop:

In a setback to police reform, the board of the Seattle police guild has voted to reject a tentative labor contract with the city seen as a key opportunity to enact new accountability measures for officers, according to three sources briefed on the confidential talks.

The board’s vote Monday, which blocked the tentative contract from going to the full membership of the Seattle Police Officers’ Guild (SPOG) for a vote, appeared to dash hopes of the City Council’s voting on a contract before a newly formed council is seated next month.

A range of reforms to strengthen civilian oversight over police and remove obstacles to accountability depend on the outcome of the labor negotiations, which the co-chair of the Community Police Commission calls the "Super Bowl of police accountability." Recently, the guild claimed it was "under attack" by Black Lives Matter Activists. (A marked departure from the change-oriented tone union president Ron Smith was striking in February.)

Representatives of SPOG and the City of Seattle did not respond to requests for comment, though SPOG sought to cast doubt on the Times report on its Facebook page, and liked a comment by SWAT Officer Kirk Waldorf calling Miletich—a mild-mannered reporter—a "demagogue."