Police union calls foul on Mayor Murray body cam order

Seattle’s police union has filed a complaint with the State of Washington Public Employees Relations Commission following Mayor Ed Murray’s executive order forcing cops to start wearing body cameras.

RELATED: Mayor Murray orders Seattle police to use body cams

“This executive order, which was prepared in consultation with Seattle City Attorney Peter Holmes, is unprecedented and a clear violation of state law,” The Seattle Police Officer’s Guild said in a statement Tuesday.

“Let’s be clear, SPOG is not opposed to body cameras,” the guild states. “SPOG is opposed to the mayor disregarding the state bargaining laws and misleading both the public and the federal court by insinuating that this has been negotiated ’round and round.’ This is simply not true.”

Officers took part in a body cam pilot that ended in March. The police guild and the mayor’s office have since been negotiating on a new union contract but have only met once formally, according to the guild, and body cams have not been presented as an issue during this time.

“The mayor is not being truthful by insinuating that the city has been following the bargaining laws on this issue,” the guild states. “On July 18, City Attorney Peter Holmes acknowledges that by stating, ‘We’ve decided to move forward regardless of what the consequences are under the labor law.’ The fact that our mayor and city attorney can decide which laws they ‘choose’ to follow is alarming.”

Murray ordered all Seattle police to begin wearing body cams on July 17. The body cam issue was previously put on the shelf as union negotiations continue in Seattle. Murray cited recent, fatal officer-involved shootings when he announced his executive order, arguing that the cameras are needed for more transparency during controversial incidents.

“We can no longer deprive Seattle of this important tool to provide a detailed record of what happens during critical incidents,” Murray said at the time. “A public record that will hold police officers accountable to their own high standards and our community’s important expectations.”

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