"If you're feeling particularly civically engaged today, here's where you can sign up for public comment."

Thank You, Nathalie!

If the city keeps taking it's time, federal charges will be filed before then.

Notice how that works?

Just saying.

Thank you, Nathalie, for another well written article and update.

Today is the one year anniversary of George Floyd's death, the day a year ago when many of our eyes and hearts were opened to the extent and brutality of police abuse. And today in the Seattle City Council Public Safety Committee OPA Director Myerberg attempted to blind us and harden our hearts with numbers and lies, a fact that Nathalie left out.

This was done by a man, OPA Director Myerberg, who has spent his entire professional career -- thirteen years -- defending police, including defending the New York City police against the legal and righteous claims of the Central Park Five.

Here are the only numbers that matter today, the numbers that Director Myerberg is paid $187K/year to obscure:

87 for the number of days that Terry Caver's murder by SPD went unnoticed, with Myerberg claiming there were no complaints or planned investigations by OPA. I made a complaint weeks after Caver's murder, a complaint Myerberg insisted they never received until I provided proof months later, causing OPA to suddenly "find" it.

371 for the number of days that we still are waiting for an OPA report on SPD's murder of Terry Caver.

27 for the number of people killed by SPD in the first decade of this century, before John T. Williams.

29 for the number of people killed by SPD in the last decade, that is, after John T. Williams and the start of our police reform process -- all these killings ruled "Lawful and Proper," never investigated, or still waiting for the investigation to be completed.

1 is the number of SPD officers disciplined with more than a reprimand, for all the abuse and harm unleashed on hundreds over the last twelve months.

2 is the number of days suspension (with or without pay, we do not know) suggested as discipline for that one officer receiving more than a reprimand.

9 is the number of years we have pretended to have police accountability.

There are far too many heart-rending and traumatic stories, buried in the numbers Myerberg touted today, for me to note. But two stand out. Last July when an SPD officer intentionally threw a blast ball at Seattle Gay News Reporter Renee Raketty, and that same month when over a dozen SPD officers stood passively over Samantha Six as she suffered repeated epileptic seizures, after being illegally arrested. In both these cases Myerberg ruled that the abuse complaints were "not sustained."

We need to stop this charade and build real accountability in Seattle.
I invite everyone to join us at SeattleSTOP.org and help build 100% civilian oversight of SPD.

So teachers are so much more important than anyone else that they can't be evicted? I find it hard to believe that anyone who is an actual teacher (as in - employed & getting their paycheck during the pandemic) would need to be protected from eviction. If they could afford rent before the pandemic, presumably they can afford it on the same income during the pandemic.

What about ambulance drivers and utility workers? Nurses? are they less important than teachers?

This is getting to be a ridiculous contest for City Council members to see who can win the prize for exempting the largest number of people from paying rent.

@5 It's not just teachers. As Nathalie noted it's anyone who is an employee or contractor at a school. So everyone from teachers to janitors to bus drivers plus students and their families. It covers a fairly broad group. Will be interesting to see if the entire council moves forward with it. Most of Sawants bills end up going nowhere so this may be the latest to earn that distinction.