President of police union calls OPA case file ‘woefully incomplete’

The head of the Seattle police union questions the investigation into the officers who were in Washington, D.C., during the U.S. Capitol riot.

OPA recommends firing 2 SPD cops for illegal activity during Capitol riot, 3 others cleared

Seattle Police Officers Guild President Mike Solan told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson Show that the case file he received from the Office of Police Accountability has some holes.

“Out of respect for OPA, I’m not going to really get into what we’re missing, but I can tell you that the case file is woefully incomplete,” Solan said.

The report recommends that two of the six police officers who were in D.C. be fired for trespassing on Capitol grounds and violating SPD’s professional standards, among other policy.

Solan, meanwhile, claims that the OPA investigation was politically motivated.

From the start of these investigations, however, OPA Director Andrew Myerberg has stressed the importance of focusing on the officers’ conduct rather than their political leanings.

“Speech is protected. So, whether you believe that the election was stolen, whether you believe in being a Republican or a Democrat, that is your protected political speech, also assembly, the freedom of assembly is a fundamental right under the First Amendment, and that is also protected,” he said. “What we’re focusing on was not the assembly, not going to the rally, not exercising your right to political speech, but your conduct. Did you violate the law? Did you engage in other illegal activities, as was the case with the first two officers.”

The six-month-long investigation into the six officers involved OPA ordering officers to turn over texts, emails, hotel receipts, and various other information that could corroborate exactly where they were that day and when. After pushing back on those requests — first by asking whether officers were required to comply with those orders — the Seattle Police Officers Guild has filed a grievance, claiming it was unlawful for investigators to demand private documents from the officers involved.

Now, Interim Police Chief Adrian Diaz will have to decide whether to follow the recommendation of the OPA to fire the two officers, but additional proceedings will take place before a decision.

Listen to the Dori Monson Show weekday afternoons from noon – 3 p.m. on KIRO Radio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.