SPS rejects bringing back police officers to Garfield High’s campus following a contentious debate

The Seattle Public Schools (SPS) Board decided not to reinstate a campus police officer at Garfield High School after a vote on Wednesday evening.

The board meeting discussed the topic for approximately two hours, including a public comment session on the divisive issue. Once the discussion was over, the board voted 5-2 in favor of not allowing police officers to return to Garfield’s campus, located in Seattle’s Central District.

“Don’t bring them,” one parent of a Garfield High student said at the meeting.

“Guns do not belong at schools, plain and simple,” a special education teacher said at the SPS board meeting Wednesday evening. The teacher believes cops will not be trained with schools’ restraint training protocols and won’t understand what behavioral disabilities some students may have.

SPS initially proposed a one-year pilot program with the Seattle Police Department (SPD) to bring a school engagement officer (SEO) to the campus to build relationships and respond to emergencies. SEOs were previously a part of Garfield High School’s campus before the partnership ended in 2020 following protests regarding George Floyd’s death.

“SPD has a bad history of handling police misconduct,” a member of the Seattle Alliance Against Racial and Political Repression said at the board meeting. “Put students and faculty in the driver’s seat, not just now, but long term.”

Garfield High School student killed on campus

In June 2024, Garfield High School student Amarr Murphy-Paine was fatally shot while trying to break up a lunchtime fight outside a school building.

Since Murphy-Paine’s killing, security at Garfield has increased.

“The number of SPS Safety and Security Specialists has doubled this year, and the district added contract security staff to help monitor the perimeter of the building,” Seattle Public Schools Chief of Staff Bev Redmond said in a statement. “SPS has also made physical improvements, including a secure vestibule at the front entrance, upgrades to exterior doors, and added monitoring systems.”

Seattle Council PTSA co-president Sebrena Burr vividly remembers the aftermath of the shooting. She told The Seattle Times that district and community leaders made “a lot of promises” right after the shooting.

“But where are we now? … I’ve been doing this for a long time, and our kids are more unsafe now than they have ever been,” Burr told The Seattle Times.

No arrests have been made in Murphy-Paine’s killing. Murphy-Paine’s family launched a lawsuit against SPS in May, alleging negligence.

Contributing: Julia Dallas, MyNorthwest; Frank Lenzi, KIRO Newsradio

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