The City Council is scheduled to vote on Tuesday regarding a new contract with Seattle Police Officers Guild (the police union). An aspect that’s raised a lot of concern is the way it rolls back police accountability and community involvement with that process.
Specifically, concerns center around:
-Citizen oversight: The proposed contract restricts the number of civilians on an oversight committee (to small minority) and forbids them from leading if the misconduct allegations are serious.
-Increases the standard of evidence for disciplinary action.
-Allows officers to appeal an oversight decision through arbitration that’s closed to the public.
-Allows SPD to investigate itself in most circumstances, rather than going through the Office of Police Accountability.
-Allows SPD to continue to decide when CARE teams get to take a call (these are the mental health/substance use teams that provide non-police response — and evidence shows are more effective at getting people into care or treatment and off the streets than police are).
ACTION (choose one):
Send an email by 10 a.m. on Tuesday to: [email protected] — this will get sent to all 9 council members
Possible script (feel free to personalize and add your own opinions)
Dear City Councilmembers,
My name [name] and I live in Seattle, at [address or zip code]. I ask that you reject the proposed Seattle Police Department Guild contract. This contract contains measures designed to increase the SPD self-policing while reducing accountability. These measures are: a reduction in citizen oversight and authority, letting the SPD decide whether use a CARE team or not, arbitration that is closed to the public, increased standards of evidence for disciplinary action, and letting SPD investigate itself rather than using the Office of Police Accountability. Please vote against this contract, and create an agreement that contains more accountability and transparency. Thank you.
OR
Speak in person at the City Council meeting at City Hall at 2 p.m. on Tuesday. Public comment is first on the agenda and speakers are limited to 2 minutes.
Directions: The main entrance is on 5th. Parking is in a garage across the street (5th & Cherry), or you can get there on light rail (Pioneer Square station — walk uphill 2 blocks on Cherry).
OR
Comment during the meeting on the phone: You can register at the SCC website (https://www.seattle.gov/council/meetings/public-comment) starting at 1:00 on Tuesday and provide your 2-minute comments over the phone.
BACKGROUND: An extended discussion by Dr. Howard Gale, outlining these concerns, is here: https://www.theurbanist.org/2025/12/05/op-ed-seattle-council-must-reject-harrells-police-guild-contract-demand-accountability/
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