Mayor Mike McGinn's
stubborn refusal to constructively negotiate with the Department of Justice is
pushing the city toward a federal lawsuit with unpredictable consequences and
expense.
Seattle Times
Editorial
SEATTLE City Attorney
Pete Holmes' frustrations with his obstinate clients, Mayor Mike McGinn and the
Seattle Police Department, ought to be shared by residents of the city.
In a letter to the
mayor, Holmes said McGinn's refusal to negotiate police reforms with the
Department of Justice was heading the city toward a civil-rights lawsuit with
unpredictable consequences and outcomes.
Existence of the
confidential letter, revealed by Times reporters Steve Miletich and Mike
Carter, comes as the city faces a July 31 DOJ deadline to negotiate changes,
and how they will be implemented and monitored. Otherwise, the next step for
the federal agency is to head into court, sue the pants off the city, and have
a judge make it all happen.
Last December the DOJ
issued a report that found a "pattern or practice" of constitutional
violations regarding the use of force; federal investigators also raised
concerns about biased policing. The impotence of the city's police oversight
mechanisms also drew attention.
The mayor's apparent
deference to the Police Department only makes the case for having a
court-appointed, independent monitor oversee changes within the department.
Concerns about use of force and episodes of biased policing go to the heart of
how the SPD trains, supervises and disciplines its officers and command staff.
That point is dealt
with in a little-noticed June 8, 2012, report from the city's Office of
Professional Accountability Review Board. The board concluded its profile and
mission is jumbled. Among the changes the board seeks in its role and authority
is a name change: the Police Review Commission. Simple, straightforward,
defining.
The mayor must
concede that stalling has not worked. Nor has squelching the use of recommended
monitors with national reputations. Maybe the pattern was set with SPD's myopic
"20/20" reform plan.
Failure to negotiate
in good faith has put the city on a path toward federal court.
Listen to your city's
lawyer, Mr. Mayor.