Training next priority in reform of Seattle Police

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray insists that police are making progress toward police reforms mandated by the U.S. Justice Department. But, he said, the city still has a long way to go.

The mayor, police chief and city council members met Tuesday at City Hall with the acting head of the Justice Department’s civil rights division, Jocelyn Samuels, as well as Seattle U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan.

“I can’t overstate the importance of this summit,” said Durkan.

The city entered into a settlement agreement with the Justice Department in 2012 to address concerns that officers were too quick to use force, especially in minor confrontations.

The city has a new use-of-force policy. It has also agreed on new policies and issues of supervision and accountability.

“Now, we need to translate that into: ‘how will that policy look when it’s applied on the street, in the alley in the middle of the night under difficult circumstances?'” said Assistant Police Chief Tag Gleason.

Samuels said she was confident that new mayor Murray and his recently appointed chief would make reform, that began 18 months ago, a priority. She rejected the suggestion that reforms will make it harder for officers to do their job.

“Constitutional policing is effective policing and as we’ve learned in our work with police departments across the country, constitutional policing and public safety go hand in hand,” said Samuels.

Murray said the department still has work to do when it comes to training and the use of new technology to measure reforms.

Durkan emphasized that Seattle Police have the building blocks for true reform.

“That does not mean it will be easy and it does not mean it will be instantaneous,” said Durkan. She said Seattle Police are at a critical juncture in reform efforts. She said there is no deadline for achieving the reforms that will allow Seattle police to emerge from the consent decree that allows the U.S. Justice Department to mandate reforms.