- Council President Tim Burgess briefly adjourned yesterday’s council briefing after interruptions from protesters in the audience.
On Monday, as Seattle Police Department leaders defended their response to recent anti-police-brutality demonstrations and protesters shouted from the crowd, it was clear that Council President Tim Burgess had lost control. He struggled to try to quiet people down before, at one point, shutting the meeting down for a few minutes. Afterward, Burgess sent SPD Chief Kathleen O’Toole an apology e-mail.
“I’m sorry this morning’s meeting got out of hand,” Burgess wrote. “We are used to public testimony that is sometimes loud, direct and even offensive, but we are not used to continued disruptions of our meetings by people shouting insults and disrupting the dialog council members are having with witnesses. I regret that I wasn’t better prepared to control all that. My apologies.”
That’s a departure from Council Member Kshama Sawant, who encouraged protesters to “keep up the struggle,” and it begs the question: What’ll Burgess do next time to better “control all that?” Should we expect more cops at meetings about cops? (UPDATE: Burgess tells me today that he doesn’t have any plans for new rules or security at future meetings, including at the Monday briefings, where the council doesn’t normally take public comment but made an exception yesterday. “I just didn’t do a good job of explaining what we were intending to do, our process and such,” he says, “so the people in attendance would have had a clearer understanding of how we would accommodate both hearing from the public and from our police guests. … If I had been more clear perhaps those in the audience would not have disrupted the police presentation, but perhaps I’m naïve as well about their intentions.”)
In the e-mail to O’Toole, Burgess also noted that the council “fully supports the right of people to peacefully protest government actions, including those of the police, and we are also committed to effective, constitutional policing.”
At the same time, he praised officers for their work. “It appears the department managed these protests well and Seattle was able to avoid the extreme disruptions, injuries and mass arrests other cities experienced,” Burgess wrote. “I am grateful for the work of our police officers and appreciate their service to the people of Seattle.”
Read his full e-mail after the jump.
Chief O’Toole,
Thank you for appearing before the Council this morning to discuss the Police Department’s response to the recent protests related to police use of deadly force. I found your comments, and those of Chief Best and Chief Metz, to be clear and responsive to our questions. Councilmember Harrell’s committee will continue to discuss these matters going forward.
As you are well aware, the Council fully supports the right of people to peacefully protest government actions, including those of the police, and we are also committed to effective, Constitutional policing. You and your officers are often called upon to police situations where these values intersect and that can sometimes be difficult and stressful. In recent weeks, thousands of people have engaged in peaceful protests in our city. Regrettably, a small number of individuals have gone beyond the bounds of peaceful protest and engaged in violent behavior aimed at our officers and others. About two dozen arrests were made and these cases are being reviewed for prosecution. I understand from your testimony this morning that 11 complaints have been received by the OPA and that six* of those required referral to line supervisors or a full OPA investigation. Please keep the Council informed about the results of these complaints.
From what I have read and heard from you and others, it appears the department managed these protests well and Seattle was able to avoid the extreme disruptions, injuries and mass arrests other cities experienced. I am grateful for the work of our police officers and appreciate their service to the people of Seattle.
I’m sorry this morning’s meeting got out of hand. We are used to public testimony that is sometimes loud, direct and even offensive, but we are not used to continued disruptions of our meetings by people shouting insults and disrupting the dialog Councilmembers are having with witnesses. I regret that I wasn’t better prepared to control all that. My apologies.
Councilmember Tim Burgess
*According to O’Toole at today’s meeting (watch it here), of the 11 citizen “contacts” with the OPA related to the protests, just one has been forwarded on for a full investigation by the office. Three others about “courtesy and demeanor” were passed on to supervisors within the SPD, and seven resulted in no investigation.
