Seattle Police consent decree ends after 13 years of federal oversight

The Seattle Police Department’s (SPD) federal consent decree is set to end after 13 years.

Judge James L. Robart ruled on Wednesday that hard work was done at all levels, making the department a “model for reform.”

“When you look at the use of force, 2012, one out of five incidents involving police there was unreasonable force,” Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said at a press conference Wednesday. “Now less than 1%. We’ve made tremendous progress.”

Harrell said that SPD Chief Shon Barnes has been in the field and working to facilitate hundreds of meetings to solidify community needs in the police department.

“While we embrace change and continue working towards becoming the best police department in the nation, we also understand that today’s ruling is just the beginning,” Barnes said. “Without the community’s support, we wouldn’t have made it to this point and will continue to work with stakeholders as we all work to cement change as a bedrock principle of policing in Seattle.”

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell filed for federal court approval to terminate the Seattle Police consent decree in July.

The Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG) celebrated the end of the consent decree.

“The weaponized financial grift that is the Department of Justice consent decree process is finally over,” SPOG President Mike Solan said. “It’s over for the cops, the citizens, but also for those who profited from this process. Seattle’s taxpayers no longer must bear the financial DOJ consent decree burden, now over $220 million. With the consent decrees’ overly burdensome policy restrictions put onto Seattle’s police officers, these policies have had a detrimental impact on Seattle’s public safety.”

Seattle Police Officers Guild Statement Regarding the
Termination of the Federal Consent Decree

The Department of Justice (DOJ) Consent Decree over the Seattle Police Department has thankfully come to an end. The line officers and sergeants of the Seattle Police Officers Guild… pic.twitter.com/zQ9w5nthkd

— Seattle Police Officers Guild (@SPOG1952) September 3, 2025

Beginning of Seattle police consent decree

Seattle entered a settlement agreement in 2012 with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) following an investigation that estimated 20% of serious use-of-force incidents were unconstitutional.

The consent decree required the City of Seattle to implement extensive policy, training, management, and operational changes to its policing to deliver police services that ensure public trust, officer safety, and promote public confidence in SPD.

“The Seattle Police Department’s work to pursue public safety and safe neighborhoods for everyone should be recognized, and we are asking the Court to confirm that the Seattle Police Department has completed all requirements set forth by the Court since 2012,” City Attorney Ann Davison stated via the mayor’s news release.

Judge James L. Robart oversaw the agreement and found that the city had achieved initial compliance with the consent decree in 2018. However, in 2020, during the mass protests throughout Seattle, it was concluded that SPD, at times, did not follow the use-of-force and de-escalation policies mandated within the consent decree.

A critical milestone was reached in 2023 when Judge Robart ruled that SPD maintained the core requirements of the decree and identified the final steps.

In 2024, analyses found the total use of force was less than one-fifth of one percent (0.17%) of all dispatches, and the majority of those uses of force were at the lowest possible level.

“Many individuals inside and outside the Seattle Police Department have devoted years to implementing constitutional policing in our city, resulting in our motion today,” Davison stated.

After multiple years of reviews by federal monitors and Seattle’s Office of Inspector General, the consent decree has resulted in the overall use of force now being a rarity, and the possibility of unconstitutional force, which led to the consent decree, has ended.

“After more than 12 years and countless reforms within the Seattle Police Department, this step of requesting the consent decree be lifted marks a major milestone for both the department and our community,” Seattle City Councilmember Bob Kettle, who serves as chair of the Council’s Public Safety Committee, stated via the release.

Harrell submitted legislation with updated crowd management policies in early 2025, and it was passed by the city council and signed into law. The policy included new rules that prohibited the use of less lethal tools in crowd management settings unless an imminent risk of injury or property damage is present.

What the consent decree gave to the city, police department

SPD stated that its officers received expanded training, including new instruction in de-escalation, crisis intervention, and cultural competency for thousands of SPD officers. Additionally, the department added transparency tools, including body-worn cameras, enhanced community engagement, and crisis alternatives. The department is now using civilian specialists and co-response teams under the CARE umbrella to work alongside officers in certain situations.

“We are a much-improved department for going through this process,” Chief Operations Officer Brian Maxey said. “The Consent Decree created internal systems of ‘critical review’ for our employees – they know what they are doing and are accountable.”

Contributing: Jason Suitch, MyNorthwest; James Lynch, KIRO Newsradio

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