Seattle council approves police contract despite concerns over ‘lack of accountability’

The City of Seattle has a new collective bargaining contract with the Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG), which represents rank-and-file officers. The Seattle City Council approved the contract by a margin of 6 to 3, with Councilmembers Alexis Mercedes Rinck, Eddie Lin, and Rob Saka voting no.

The new contract, which won tentative approval before the election, includes significant pay raises, incentives for new hires, and those who move to SPD from other departments, known as laterals.

It also strengthens the city’s Community Assisted Response and Engagement Team, known as CARE. The team already responds in coordination with officers to help those experiencing a mental health and/or a crisis of addiction or other non-violent situations where a sworn officer is not necessarily needed. With the new contract, CARE will be able to respond without officer involvement.

Seattle council members voice distaste for contract

“This agreement fails to meet what Seattleites deserve under our current state law, that is structured to produce weak oversight. While I support positive reforms like the expansion of the CARE Department for crisis response, these wins don’t make up for the continued lack of accountability,” Saka said. “We strengthen public safety when we strengthen accountability. The two rise or fall together.”

Mercedes Rinck also gave her reasoning for voting no.

“This contract asks Seattle taxpayers to invest more in policing without requiring more accountability in return, and that’s not a deal I can support,” she said.

Majority of Seattle council members support agreement

However, Seattle Councilmember Bob Kettle voiced his support.

“This agreement is crucial to make progress in our public safety reform, specifically with alternative response. I know the focus is mainly on accountability, and I would say accountability is key to our police and public safety reform efforts,” Kettle said. “We have furthered our support for our accountability partners, and we’ve done this on a regular basis, whether it’s the Office of Inspector General, the Office of Police Accountability, or the Community Police Commission.”

The council also passed a bargaining agreement with the Seattle Police Management Association, which represents lieutenants and captains at SPD. That vote was unanimous.

The council meeting was not well attended, but it was a disruptive one. Attendees used profanity and chanted so loudly, council members could not continue their work and retreated to their offices to finish the meeting via Zoom.

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