Longtime critic to help lead Seattle Police citizen oversight panel
Jan 14, 2013, 12:58 PM | Updated: 1:32 pm
Seattle’s mayor has named a longtime police critic and defense attorney, the head of a downtown business organization, and 13 others to a new citizens commission aimed at promoting police reform, community support and accountability.
The panel was ordered by the U.S. Justice Department as part of a settlement agreement with the city following an investigation into excessive use-of-force.
For years, Seattle defense attorney Lisa Daugaard has worked on issues of racial discrimination. The mayor has just named her as co-chair of the new citizens commission.
“So I come to this work, it’s fair to say, having taken a critical perspective on SPD and in particular on racial disparity issues for a long time,” said Daugaard, deputy director of Defender Association.
The mayor’s 13 nominees are all volunteers.
“The important point here is that nobody on this group has to do this, everyone has volunteered and stepped forward and many of us would not have done that if we didn’t think this was real, if we didn’t think that this was different,” added Daugaard.
The mayor’s appointees are all subject to city council confirmation. One member of the Community Police Commission comes from the Seattle Police Officers Guild and another represents the Seattle Police Management Association, the two police unions.
The broad role of the Commission is to “support the development of reforms, establishment of police priorities and mechanisms to promote community,” McGinn said. “Public safety relies on public trust and engagement.”
