Before work, Sergeant Rich O’Neill dons a blue Seattle Police Department (SPD) uniform, pins on a badge, and begins his commute—just like 1,250 other Seattle police officers and sergeants. But O’Neill never actually patrols Seattle streets. In fact, he hasn’t worked a shift as a cop since 2006, but Seattle residents still pay him $109,703 a year.
O’Neill, 52, is the president of the Seattle Police Officers’ Guild (SPOG), the union representing all the city’s beat cops. He retains the title of “sergeant” per the terms of the city contract that he negotiates on behalf of Seattle officers. His other primary function is speaking on behalf of these officers, who are prohibited by the SPD from commenting to the press. But as the US Department of Justice (DOJ) begins an investigation into excessive use of force and discriminatory policing exhibited by Seattle police officers, many are calling O’Neill SPD’s biggest public relations problem.
“Rich O’Neill does a great deal of damage to the community’s perception of officers,” says Nicole Gaines, president of the Loren Miller Bar Association, a civil rights group that’s working with the DOJ on its investigation. Gaines argues that O’Neill doesn’t just speak for officers—his rhetoric pits them against the public they’re sworn to protect.
Others put it more bluntly:
“The city pays Rich O’Neill to be a total dick,” says a city hall staffer familiar with current police contract negotiations, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “That’s his job—being a total dick. That’s what the public sees.”
O’Neill didn’t return several calls for comment (his secretary said he would probably never call back). But his words in the Guardian, SPOG’s monthly newspaper, and his actions speak for themselves.
“It is extremely frustrating when individuals with zero police training feel qualified to voice their opinions on police actions,” O’Neill lamented in the Guardian about recent police scrutiny. What was so “frustrating”? The media “frenzy” and public outcry after several controversial incidents that led to the federal investigation of the SPD: Officer Ian Birk fatally shooting John T. Williams (the shooting was found unjustified), Detective Shandy Cobane threatening to “beat the fucking Mexican piss” out of an innocent suspect (an internal investigation reportedly has recommended Cobane be fired), an undercover officer kicking a juvenile who had his hands up (the Washington State Patrol is currently investigating the officer), and others.
The Guardian also regularly publishes inflammatory articles—joking about shooting African Americans and showing contempt for civilian oversight, for example—all written by Seattle officers within O’Neill’s fold. For example, last fall, Officer Steve Pomper wrote that city officials conducting racial and social justice training are “the enemy” and “the city is inflicting its socialist policies” on officers. Pomper is now the subject of an SPD investigation (the exact nature of the investigation is still undisclosed).
Meanwhile, O’Neill has stood behind the most controversial cops. He calls Birk “a good young man.” In defending Pomper, he writes, “Many in Seattle can be very intolerant of anyone who is not a left-leaning Democrat.”
But while O’Neill stands by his rhetoric as a matter of the union’s free speech, the department is trying to do damage control. “It doesn’t do the union any good or the department any good,” Police Chief John Diaz said at a community meeting in January. “You can’t hide and just say, ‘Well, this is my union paper.’ It’s there for anyone to take a look at. It reflects badly. It degrades trust in our police department.”
“Without trust, police officers can’t do their jobs,” says US Attorney Jenny Durkan, the top prosecutor in Washington, whose office is leading the investigation into the SPD with the DOJ. While investigating use-of-force complaints, Durkan says her team will examine issues of trust and make recommendations to the department. “Officers rely on citizens to give them good information, to let them patrol their streets,” she continues. “Trust goes to the heart of safety. They have to trust that they’re welcome—that they can get out of their cars and be safe. It’s the linchpin to good policing.”
Seattle police officers are the highest paid law enforcement officers in the state. The wages start at $64,000, and after a decade of service, most officers make well over $100,000 a year, including overtime. But instead of building community trust, their most public face, O’Neill, is overtly political and confrontational.
For example, O’Neill has used his paid position to campaign against candidates he dislikes. In 2009, he and SPOG members picketed city attorney candidate Pete Holmes, who used to serve on a police oversight panel. O’Neill and others blocked his campaign signs and accused him of “divisiveness” and “grandstanding.” And last year, O’Neill clashed with Holmes again (who won the election for city attorney despite SPOG’s campaigning), this time when Holmes suggested that cash-poor Seattle use city attorneys to defend misconduct lawsuits against Seattle officers instead of the highly priced private firm Stafford Frey Cooper. O’Neill’s response? “We will file legal action against the city,” he said.
SPD won’t directly comment on O’Neill’s behavior. But city officials are aware that he is a public relations liability. “In city hall, there’s general agreement that Rich’s comments are not helpful to his own cause,” said a city council member who asked to remain anonymous.
The DOJ investigation into SPD’s police misconduct and public trust issues has no timeline, Durkan says. And thus far, O’Neill appears to be playing nice. “[SPOG’s] statements to us have always been, ‘We’ll be as cooperative as we can be,'” says Durkan.
But whether or not the DOJ finds O’Neill and the union to be part of the problem, it’s unlikely that the city can be rid of him anytime soon. In January, union officers reelected O’Neill to his third three-year term with over 78 percent of the vote. 
@162, it’s hard to get under the surface or “dig deeper,” as you put it, when someone won’t return your phone calls. O’Neill hasn’t returned a call of mine in over a year–even though it’s his job to represent the union to the public.
So yeah, nice sentiment.
And I wasn’t trying to provide insight into the dept–I was, as I’ve stated a few times now, I was illustrating how one man can destroy the public’s trust in the department with his rhetoric.
O’Neill’s popular because he’s a bulldog at defending cops. No one needs to “dig deeper” to figure that out–it’s pretty apparent. However, I think a man with more finesse and tact could do his job while not pitting cops against the public or eroding public trust.
That was the point of my article. But thank you for at least being polite with your criticisms.
Well, it’s been 4 or 5 days. Have your “better researchers” shown up, PTSD?
“it’s hard to get under the surface or ‘dig deeper,’ as you put it, when someone won’t return your phone calls. O’Neill hasn’t returned a call of mine in over a year–even though it’s his job to represent the union to the public.”
—————
From his point of view, I can understand why. How far off the mark would he be if he thought, “Why the heck should I talk to anyone from The Stranger? All they’ll do is make me into the devil anyway.” What possible interest does he have in speaking with you?
Frankly, as a reader who has lived here for 10 years and expects to live here at least another 30, maybe 40, depending on whether or not by the time I’m in my 80s they are paying doctors to kill the elderly, I have only limited interest in boilerplate sparring. Come on, what would your telephone interview with the guy really tell us?
Instead, you should try getting to know the cops on the beat. Look at the street through their eyes. Really do it, not as some condescending anthropology exercise but for real. There isn’t any need to write about it, although it would be kinda-sorta interesting to have a cop’s perspective of the movable fungus that is turning downtown into a ghost town after dark.
More importantly, just try to understand why 78% of the police vote for the guy. The way to do that is to get to know the cops, while retaining your independence. I didn’t say it was easy, but it sure would be valuable.
@CM
I was just pointing out that with our Collective bargaining laws that our community deems “good” comes what you perceive as negative. You quote city hall staffer who states the “The City pays Rich O’Neill to be a total Dick.” Are these not inflammatory comments from our city leadership? Should this city hall staffer not be paid? We have different parts of government and society. Mr. O’Neill and the Guild have a point of view, just like you, I, and the city hall staffer. Freedom of speech is vital to our society. You may not like the manner in which Mr. O’Neill operates, but I would argue he has been very effective representing his fellow members of the Guild. You want change? Then change the collective bargaining laws. Oh and another thing. Next time you quote a city hall staffer, quote one willing to put their name behind it.It might add a little credibility to their statement.
We also pay the salaries of those treasonous high-ranking corporate officers!Note to the Rabble:Stop paying for your own oppression,you masochists!
MY DAUGHTER AND MYSELF ARE VICTIMS OF SGT RICH ONEILL’S LACK OF PROFESSIONAL TRAINING IN 1999. SGT RICH ONEILL IGNORED VITAL BASELINE DATA-MY DUAGHTER IS A VICTIM OF LK-LEGALIZED KIDNAP. FILED LAWSUIT IN 2000-HID BEHIND IMMUNITY. CONTACTED JOURNALISTS- WELL IN THOSE DAYS NO ONE WAS INTERESTED IN A SGT RICH ONEILL-JOURNALISTS THAT WORKED FOR THE STRANGER,PI,ETC. (REMEMBER JOURANLISTS YOU ARE THE THE LINK THAT EXPOSES WHAT IS HAPPENING TO CITIZENS -BUT WHEN JOURNALISTS IGNORE-MY CASE WOULD HAVE EXPOSED SGT RICH ONEILL-OVER 10 YEARS AGO).
I MADE 2 YOU-TUBE VIDEOS THAT WERE REMOVED-THE FIRST WAS UP FOR OVER 10 MONTHS THE SECOND OVER A YEAR- BOTH VIDEOS ARE INFORMATIVE.
MY DAUGHTER AND MYSELF ARE VICTIMS OF SGT RICH ONEILL’S LACK OF PROFESSIONAL TRAINING IN 1999. SGT RICH ONEILL IGNORED VITAL BASELINE DATA-MY DAUGHTER IS A VICTIM OF LK-LEGALIZED KIDNAP. FILED LAWSUIT IN 2000-HID BEHIND IMMUNITY. CONTACTED JOURNALISTS- WELL IN THOSE DAYS NO ONE WAS INTERESTED IN A SGT RICH ONEILL-JOURNALISTS THAT WORKED FOR THE STRANGER,PI,ETC. (REMEMBER JOURANLISTS YOU ARE THE THE LINK THAT EXPOSES WHAT IS HAPPENING TO CITIZENS -BUT WHEN JOURNALISTS IGNORE-MY CASE WOULD HAVE EXPOSED SGT RICH ONEILL-OVER 10 YEARS AGO).
I MADE 2 YOU-TUBE VIDEOS THAT WERE REMOVED-THE FIRST WAS UP FOR OVER 10 MONTHS THE SECOND OVER A YEAR- BOTH VIDEOS ARE INFORMATIVE.
How come Holmes hasn’t’ charged the cop that kicked the guy outside the nightclub? City Cover up? One more thing. I apologize for my mom above. She started drinking again. Mom! Call Pat O’Day. He will help you out.
TO ‘MIC’ THE INDIVIDUAL THAT MADE THE COMMENT #171: THE LAWSUIT IS ON RECORD. THE LAWSUIT BROUGHT A FEW CHANGES IN PROCEDURE-6 YEARS LATER. I THINK WHAT YOU MEANT TO TYPE IS ‘THE CITY OF SEATTLE PROSECUTORS OFFICE NEEDS PAT O’DAY’! AND MIC SPD ACCOUNTABILITY IS A SERIOUS MATTER- EVERYWHERE. IF YOU HAD GONE THROUGH WHAT I DID DUE TO SGT RICH ONEILL, YOU THEN WOULD NOT BE TYPING THAT MORONIC COMMENT.
Well why the hell are the tax payer dollars being spent on an out of tune police Official….he stirs up problems in the communities he serves…he is a racist…he is female gender bias especially BLONDE FEMALES…he destroys families…you said it yourself O’Neill is a DICK..so why are the tax payers paying him more then $40.000 yearly he is not even worth that…GET RID OF HIM SEATTLE.
EXCELLENT VIDEO: BASELINE DATA IGNORED IN SEATTLE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaXINizSj…
The last thing you want to give to an absolute power, like police and judges in this country, is a union!
We pay money to this system but have no rights to control them, or even defend ourselves from them! It’s amazing how hypocritical this country is. We only preach about freedom, but when it comes to us, we become sheep! We pay salaries for the most violent and most legally protected police force in the world and submit to their demands… It’s pathetic. We talk about a single police department, or a single officer for hours, yet we do not talk about the system that provides incentives for corruption and police brutality. There is absolutely no 3rd party oversight of what the police is doing! NONE in this country!
The police union(guild) is normalizing things that even a child knows is wrong. The whole system is absurdly corrupt.
Getting rid of O’Neil won’t even change anything, because there will be another more careful and sneakier O’Niel after. The system is wrong. The system has conflict of interest written all over it…
There can not be a union for an organization that has so many extra legal rights over people!!! Anything an employee of a police department say can not even be credible when they have extra rights like that. We created a monster and the time has come to understand it and push for the police reform.
Hey Mama, turn off the caps key or people will call you a HYSTERICAL BITCH. Just sayin’.
THERE IS NO REASON FOR THE CAPS KEYS TO OFFEND- THAT IS SEATTLE FOR YOU-WHO CARES ABOUT CAP KEYS. i have been quietly working for years. so ‘mister g’ please chill. we as citizens have a serious issue to discuss and that is police accountability,which includes sgt rich oneill-the president of the police guild in seattle.
EXCELLENT STATEMENT MIKEY. (oh sorry, i don’t want to offend the seattle citizens that are ‘offended’ by caps and not the ssystem-yes 2 ss)
excellent statement mikey.
Mother in Seattle I feel you only a jerk would be sayN junk here; Moving on @Milky I love your statement it is right on point…Sargent O’Neill does not have a reputable relationship with the citizen’s of Seattle I have heard complaints about him before…He is racist..He is a Jerk…He is over paid..Good Cop NO Bad Cop gotta GO…KICK HIM IN THE ASS, KICK HIS ASS OUT. Mister G are you tryN to get a sniff of the Sargents dung I see shit on you mustache:))
opps; I meant @MIKEY
Wow! There sure is a lot of riled up angry little piggies in here. Guess what you prick pig bastards? You can be as arrogant as you want but shits starting to roll back your way. You overpaid brute gangster fuckwads. Fuck you SPD Pigs!!!
THERE IS NO REASON FOR THE CAPS KEYS TO OFFEND- THAT IS SEATTLE FOR YOU-WHO CARES ABOUT CAP KEYS.
The entire internet, not just Seattle. That’s who.