The City Council meeting Tuesday was chaotic. The Seattle Police Officers’ Guild (SPOG) contract was up for a vote, more than 20 public commenters showed up to speak (and shout) against it. Some councilmembers expressed strong opposition as well, citing the lack of accountability measures promised nearly a decade ago.

“The accountability measures within the contract are not good enough, plain and simple,” but “moving forward on a pathway to arbitration on stronger accountability measures can’t wait,” Councilmember Dan Strauss said before the vote.

The contract passed 6-3, with Councilmembers Bob Kettle, Sara Nelson, Strauss, Joy Hollingsworth, Maritza Rivera and Debora Juarez voting for, and Councilmembers Alexis Mercedes Rinck, Eddie Lin and Rob Saka voting against.

As the clerk called the vote roll, protesters shouted “COWARD!” and “JAIL KILLER COPS!” and “KNEES OFF OUR NECKS!”, drowning out the councilmembers.

The contract includes some good stuff. It expands the CARE Department (Seattle’s alternative public safety response), grants civilian employees ability to work on misconduct investigations with a sworn officer leading or co-leading, and clarifies the 180-day timeline for investigations. But there are still gaps.

Councilmember Saka said the contract’s “single most egregious failure” is its refusal to expand subpoena power for civilian oversight. In a passionate nearly half hour speech before the vote, Saka said that without subpoena authority, investigators can’t get information that would reveal patterns of misconduct, require officers or witnesses to participate, compel third parties to turn over critical evidence, access all necessary records and evidence, or independently verify accuracy of statements.

“Investigations cannot be complete without those tools because oversight essentially becomes guesswork,” Saka said. “And when investigations are incomplete, trust erodes, misconduct festers, and communities suffer, and will continue to suffer.”

The 2017 voter-approved Accountability Ordinance was supposed to install a civilian body with the power to compel officers or third parties to turn over evidence they might otherwise refuse to provide. But the ordinance included a critical caveat: that subpoena power only takes effect if it does not conflict with SPOG’s contract.

“If we approve this contract, it will go through 2027. That will be a decade that we still have not implemented the accountability ordinance,” Lin said.

While the contract expands the CARE team and allows them to answer “non-criminal, nonviolent calls” without police escort, CARE still can’t respond to calls to homeless encampments or any situation on private property. And if an SPD sergeant believes any situation carries a safety risk, they can dispatch an officer to accompany the CARE team. 

Big salary increases are included in the contract too. Officers’ base salaries will increase to $118,000, and would increase to $126,000 after six months on the job.

“This contract asks Seattle taxpayers to invest more in policing without requiring more accountability in return, and that’s not a deal I can support,” Rinck said.

The deal passed, but the city’s decade-old accountability promises remain on hold.

“Seattle needs reform and accountability,” Saka said. “The [contract] gives us one important thing, one. But it does also sidestep the other, yet again.”