US Attorney calls McGinn’s claims of DOJ reform costs ‘absurd’
May 15, 2012, 11:36 AM | Updated: Oct 11, 2024, 1:40 pm
 US Attorney Jenny Durkan disputes claims made by Seattle’s mayor about the cost of proposed reforms to the Seattle Police Department. (97.3 KIRO FM/Tim Haeck) |
A top Justice Department official says Seattle Mayor Mike
McGinn’s claims that proposed reforms to the Seattle
Police Department would cost $41 million are “frankly
absurd.”
U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan appeared on 97.3 KIRO FM’s Ross
and Burbank to dispute the mayor’s claims he made this
week in a radio interview about the changes being ordered
to combat the excessive force problems plaguing the
department.
“The $41 million is frankly absurd. We don’t know where
they got it. We look forward to sitting down and talking
substance. Last week, it was $5 million,” Durkan said.
A confidential city memo says $18 million alone would be
needed for training requirements mandated by the DOJ, but
Durkan disputes that.
“If you take those trainings that we have laid out, that
he credits in the memo, they’re exactly what he has in
his 20/20 plan that he says can be done for free,” Durkan
said.
McGinn also argued the Justice Department would impose a
“shadow mayor” that would hinder him and the
police chief from acting quickly during an incident such
as the May Day violence in downtown Seattle.
But Durkan says an appointed monitor with independent
oversight is far different than the mayor claims.
“Nobody wants that. The purpose here is to build the
best department possible that can last into the next
generation and the key to any department being successful
is to have a very vital chief who’s the full leader for a
department,” Durkan insisted.
According to Durkan, the monitor would work with the mayor
and chief to make sure changes actually get implemented
and have the intended impact.
“There’s been no continuity to make sure we’re doing the
right reforms, that the reforms are having the impact we
want. To have someone who is an independent person who
can look and say ‘let’s assess what are we trying to
accomplish’, work with the mayor, work with the chief,
work with the community.”
The city faces a deadline this week to submit a
counterproposal to the Justice Department. The DOJ can
sue the city if an agreement isn’t reached to force
compliance.
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