The Seattle Times announces it is suing the Seattle Police Department

The Seattle Times announced in a story published early Thursday it is suing the Seattle Police Department (SPD) over the release of public records.

In the story, the Times alleges the SPD has not lived up to an agreement from 2023 to improve when and how it releases those public records. The Seattle media outlet noted that is a right guaranteed by state law for more than 50 years to promote transparency in government.

“We are acting as a proxy for the public, and the public has a right to know how important government agencies are handling government business,” Seattle Times Executive Editor Matassa Flores said in the story. “And in this case, the Police Department has such magnified importance because of the sensitive nature of the work they do and their daily contact with the public.”

The lawsuit comes as the Seattle media outlet attempts to get records regarding former SPD Chief Adrian Diaz, whom the department recently fired. Harrell told the Seattle City Council he fired Diaz after seeing the results of an investigation into the former police chief’s behavior.

From Matt Markovich: Seattle mayor calls for major SPD reforms after Diaz harassment claims probe

The Times explained that a policy former Mayor Ed Murray set during his administration was meant to make the records process more efficient, it actually allowed the department to delay the records’ release.

Under a policy set by former Mayor Ed Murray in 2017, the department was allowed to “group” requests made by a single person — even those made months apart — into one.

While intended to make the records process more efficient, in practice the policy allowed SPD to continually delay the release of records as each new request came through, the lawsuit says. In some egregious cases, records could take years to be released, often long past when the information they contain is relevant.

Going further, the Times called out this slow process becoming “particularly salient” in summer of 2020 — and just about the rest of the year — “as intense scrutiny landed on the department and its handling of citywide protests and the abandonment of its East Precinct.” That’s the summer the killing of George Floyd, a Black man, by a white Minneapolis police officer sparked the Black Lives Matter protests. During demonstrations, Seattle protesters took over a portion of the Capitol Hill neighborhood for several weeks and named the area CHOP (Capitol Hill Organized Protest).

The SPD hasn’t offered a comment on the Times story yet.

KIRO Newsradio has reached out to the Seattle city attorney’s office for a comment and has not yet heard back.

Ursula Reutin and Angela Poe Russell discuss the suit, back the Times

Host Ursula Reutin and Angela Poe Russell, in for Gee Scott, discussed the Times’ lawsuit during “The Gee and Ursula Show” Thursday.

“I am extremely disappointed by the behavior of the Seattle Police Department,” Angela said. “I get that you’re understaffed. But having access to public records is fundamental to our system, to our democracy, to everything.”

Angela then issued a challenge of sorts to listeners to think about what might happen if the public didn’t have access to the governmental records, including budgets.

“I want all of you, regardless of how you feel about journalists, about the media. I just want you to imagine a world in which every public agency think about from president to your state representative to your council person, imagine a world where they could operate, send memos, establish budgets,” Angela stated. “And you don’t have access to that information. They are able to operate with no one looking because if we didn’t have this, these rules, these laws in effect, that is, think about how they act with the public record lobbying out there.”

“Gee and Ursula” host Ursula Reutin responded by noting why it’s important for media outlets like the Times to get access to these records and to report on them.

“The Seattle Times is one of the few publications, one of the few newspaper organizations left,” Ursula said. “I mean, there was a time when we had a couple of newspapers. Newsrooms are being decimated right now. So, it’s even more imperative that the few that exist are able to access those records, yes.”

Head here or tap on the player below to hear more about this lawsuit, including the issue of potentially unreasonable record requests.

Contributing: Frank Lenzi, KIRO Newsradio

Steve Coogan is the lead editor of MyNorthwest. You can read more of his stories here. Follow Steve on X, or email him here.