AN ORDINANCE relating to civilian and community oversight of the police; establishing a process for investigating complaints naming the Chief of Police; adding a new subchapter V to Chapter 3.29 of the Seattle Municipal Code; and amending Section 49 of Ordinance 125315 to renumber the existing Subchapter V of Chapter 3.29 and Sections 3.29.500 and 3.29.510 of the Seattle Municipal Code.
A report of the Public Safety and Human Services Committee Agenda Item eight Council Bill 120337 An Ordinance relating to civilian and community oversight of the police. Establishing a process for investigating complaints. Naming the Chief of police and adding sections to the municipal code. The committee recommends the bill pass as amended. Thank you, Kasper Herbold. Thank you so much. This bill addresses a technical issue from the 2017 Accountability Ordinance, which didn't address how complaints that named the chief of police should be addressed. I became aware of this issue earlier this year and immediately reached out to the mayor's office, the Inspector General and the Office of Police Accountability to chart a path forward to address this issue. As noted in the recitals, there were three complaints against the former chief in 2020 that linger for some time until. Mayor Harrell's. Office forwarded the complaints to an external agency for investigation. Moving forward, it's important for public trust to have a clear process to resolve these types of complaints. The legislation establishes a process for the intake, evaluation, classification and investigation of complaints that name the chief, either by a city unit or by an independent investigative body that is external to the city. That process would involve the Office of the Inspector General, and the legislation also requires key stakeholders in the person or people who made the complaint to be notified at investigative milestones. I'd like to thank Inspector General, Judge and interim okay Director Perkins, as well as their staffs for their assistance and time in developing this legislation. Central staff in my office held a number of meetings with them, and I worked through a number of complicated issues. I'd also like to thank the Community Police Commission, the Mayor's Office, for their collaboration on this legislation, as well as my own staff. Aldrich The Public Safety and Human Services Committee made changes to the original draft in response to a letter from the Community Police Commission to state that both intake and any investigations conducted by okay shall be conducted exclusively by civilian personnel. There are four civilian personnel at the OPA. Now two civilian investigators into civilian supervisors. Any non. It also requires that any non city entity conducting an investigation of a non criminal violation will not be a law enforcement agency and that any investigation of a suspected violation of law would be investigated by a non law enforcement agency. The committee heard this bill four times before sending it to council. It moved forward with the unanimous vote and I urge my colleagues to vote for it today. Thank you. Thank you. Councilor Herbold, are there any questions or concerns for Councilor Wolf Herbert regarding item number eight? I am not. Oh, I see what customers want. Thank you. Guns have been worse. I will be voting no on this legislation. Establishing the investigation procedures for complaints against the chief of police. This legislation is largely technical establishing timelines and notification requirements for the investigations, while maintaining the current accountability system of the OPA, OIG and the political establishment. This is a system that is completely failed to hold the Seattle Police Department accountable for their militarized response to the Black Lives Matter movement of 2020, with the billowing clouds of tear gas, stun grenades and pepper spray. This is a system that is designed to condone when officers kill Charlene Lyles in her own home for small children because she made the mistake of calling the police. What we need is an elected community oversight board with full powers to investigate complaints against the police, including the police chief. Not further reliance on the OPA, OIG and other entities that we are going to be going to accountability structures for those reasons. I will be voting no. Thank you. If your customers want, are there any other comments and Councilmember Mr. Verbal, is there anything you'd like to add before we close out? You could. No, thank you. All right. Thank you. With that, Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll on the passage of the bill? Councilmember Lewis? Yes. Alice. Yes. Councilmember mosquito by. For Nelson. I. Councilmember Peterson. All right. Councilmember Sawant No. Councilmember Strouse. Yes. Councilmember Herbold? Yes. President was high eight in favor when opposed. Thank you. The bill passes and the chair will sign it. And, Madam Clerk, please fix my signature to the passage of the bill. That concludes the eight committee reports that were listed on the agenda. And with that, moving on to the agenda, we moved two items removed from the consent calendar. There were no items removed going to Section J of the agenda, adoption of other resolutions, not seeing any other resolutions for introduction and adoption today.