Citing systemic "unconstitutional patterns" of excessive force at the hands of Seattle police, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) unleashed a damning report on December 16 that demanded 31 reforms from our police department, including creating specific policies for using pepper spray and batons. But a police union and a stubborn chief are already digging in their heels, and they may stymie reforms—or even get the city sued—by refusing to cooperate.

"In the cases we reviewed, when officers used force, it was done in an excessive, unconstitutional manner 20 percent of the time," said Jenny Durkan, US Attorney for the Western District of Washington, when explaining the DOJ's recommendations. Surprisingly, officers were found to employ unnecessary force with batons 57 percent of the time.

But within hours of receiving the DOJ's 66-page report, Seattle police chief John Diaz told reporters that he wanted to "see evidence" that his officers used excessive force in one out of five cases. "Let us see the numbers," Diaz defiantly said. Likewise, police labor union president Rich O'Neill issued a statement that afternoon that said changes to working conditions for officers must be hammered out "at the bargaining table."

But protracted bargaining over labor contracts, quibbling over numbers, and lawsuits over working conditions all stand to prevent Seattle from being able to "make improvements swiftly," as the Feds insist.

"What this is, basically, is a potential lawsuit against the city," explains Seattle City Council member Tim Burgess. "The DOJ is kind of giving us advance notice and saying, 'We can reach a settlement with you.'" That is, if we comply quickly.

"To the extent that things are subject to negotiation with the union, that's another hurdle we need to get over," concedes Mayor Mike McGinn. "The union has the ability to go to arbitration if we can't reach an agreement." For now, McGinn's staff is still identifying which recommendations are subject to labor negotiations.

The problem stems from the city's contract with the Seattle Police Officers' Guild (SPOG), which represent more than 1,250 uniformed officers. To get a sense of its political leanings: The group's membership has sought to repeal race and social justice training, said it was "outraged" by the city council's 11 recommendations last year to increase police accountability, and even called to have the city attorney arrested. But SPOG has leverage. Page 36 of the Feds' report acknowledges that "many of the issues identified in this letter may implicate some aspects of the SPD Collective Bargaining Agreement." In other words, SPOG must approve certain reforms in their contracts. Optimistically, DOJ suggests that finding common ground will be simple: "Seattle's policing community has an established history of coming together to address shortcomings," writes the DOJ's Civil Rights Division and United States Attorney's Office Western District of Washington. "We have every reason to believe it will do so now."

But that is, in fact, quite the opposite of what we've seen.

SPOG is notorious for filing more unfair labor practice complaints than any other city union. Currently, our police officers operate under a contract that expired in 2010 because SPOG officials have repeatedly opposed reforms and deadlocked with the city on developing a new working agreement. This year, SPOG filed a labor complaint because the city is denying police their preferred private defense law firm, Stafford Frey Cooper (City Attorney Pete Holmes insists this matter doesn't even need to be negotiated). Likewise, SPOG is at another impasse with the city over releasing the names of officers accused of misconduct.

If these fringe concerns about transparency and lawyers can hold up contracts for a year, tie up the city's resources in court, and still remain unresolved, then it raises questions about our ability to comply "swiftly" with federal orders to make more substantial changes.

What are federal investigators so concerned about? In a nine-month investigation, Feds found that officers used force for "minor offenses, including pedestrian interference, obstruction, open container violations, jaywalking, and shoplifting," the report says. In one case, a man was found yelling at traffic lights and holding a stuffed animal. When he walked away from officers, police sprayed him with "a powerful form of pepper spray," "struck the man on the arm with a baton," and "administered between 14 to 18 punches."

The DOJ investigation also revealed that out of 1,230 departmental use-of-force reports—which officers are required to fill out and submit to supervisors—only five were referred by supervisors for "further review" in a 27-month period ending on April 4, 2011.

In a best-case scenario, the City of Seattle could simply enter into a consent decree with the DOJ to straighten out the city's act, as the report advises. But if negotiations drag on for too long or the DOJ doesn't see the improvements it demands, federal prosecutors could sue the city for civil rights violations.

Sources speaking to The Stranger on the condition of anonymity fear such a lawsuit could collect millions of dollars from the city before forcing the police department to capitulate.

But SPOG president O'Neill said in his statement that he would "look forward" to negotiating reforms. (SPOG did not respond to a request for comment.)

"Right now, SPOG feels they have a lock on any proposed changes by forcing the city to buy our civil rights through a negotiated process," says city council member Nick Licata. He says the potential for SPOG to delay the process is "big," citing past disputes over officer discipline that took more than three years to resolve before labor boards.

"I don't think improper use of force is a legitimate issue to be negotiated," Licata adds. "Unless there is a change in the SPOG leadership, I expect this will be battled out through the court system."

Additional reporting by Cienna Madrid