The January 6th insurrection in Washington, D.C. was an attack against our democracy fueled by white supremacy. It demonstrated the worst of America. While the CPC has always stood for the civil liberties of our community, especially to protest, this was something utterly different – this was an act of terror.

Any officers’ participation in the insurrection is concerning. However, the fact that at least two Seattle police officers broke Washington DC law and Seattle Police Department (SPD) policy while insurrectionists attacked the seat of our democracy is inexcusable.

We are thankful for the thorough investigation conducted by the Office of Police Accountability (OPA) and urge Chief Adrian Diaz to act on the OPA’s findings.

We must address extremism within the ranks.

The concerns raised by the CPC and many other organizations about extremism within the ranks of SPD are serious. Of the 31 police officers from across the nation known to be at the Capitol that day, 6 are Seattle Police officers – more than any other police department in the country.

Soon after the attack on the Capitol, the CPC asked Chief Adrian Diaz how SPD plans to investigate and address extremism within the department’s ranks. While the Department of Defense, Houston Police Department, and other law enforcement agencies across the country have publicized plans to address this issue, SPD’s plans remain unclear.

The extent of SPD officers’ involvement in the insurrection is a wake-up call. The CPC demands SPD transparently and­ aggressively address extremism within the ranks.

We need full implementation of the landmark Accountability Ordinance.

While OPA was able to thoroughly investigate five of the six SPD officers at the scene of this attack, one officer refused orders to comply with the investigation and produce records. Hiding critical information like this undermines Seattle’s police disciplinary system and the community’s faith in law enforcement oversight.

One of the key reforms in the landmark Accountability Ordinance was the ability for OPA to subpoena necessary records.  Unfortunately, that was one of the dozens of reforms rolled back by the latest police contracts. This demonstrates why it is so important we fully implement the Accountability Ordinance in the upcoming collective bargaining process.

We are concerned by Chief Diaz’s decision to overturn the OPA findings in this case, the justice denied to peaceful protesters, and the harm this decision will do to trust in the Seattle Police Department and Seattle’s entire police accountability system.

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The Seattle Community Police Commission (CPC) has released its Police Accountability Recommendation Tracker (PART), giving community members unprecedented, centralized access to more than 275 recommendations made by Seattle’s civilian-led police accountability agencies.

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Our hearts are with George Floyd’s loved ones today. While this is a step toward justice, we know nothing can fill the hole left in the hearts of his family and community.

The murder of George Floyd and the response by police departments to protests over the past year have shown the world what Black people in America have known for centuries – the systems of oppression perpetrated by policing make all of us less safe and less free.

Since George Floyd’s murder, police have killed nearly 1,000 people in the United States – two of them in Seattle. We cannot continue to wait for harm to be inflicted on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities to remind us that now is the time for action. To the Seattle Police Department and our elected leaders, our message is simple: do not just listen to community, act on their demands.

This statement was issued in response to a press release by SPD saying the department had made changes to its crowd control policies based on feedback from the Community Police Commission (CPC).

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During the Seattle Community Police Commission’s (CPC) April 7 meeting, the Seattle Police Monitoring Team met with commissioners to discuss its plans to help oversee the Seattle Police Department’s compliance with the Consent Decree.

During that meeting, which you can watch here, the CPC reviewed the plan, posed questions about it, and gave the Monitoring Team feedback. The CPC also raised concerns about how late in the process the Monitoring Team consulted the CPC.

Links

• Read the letter the CPC sent to the Monitoring Team with questions and feedback regarding the Monitoring Plan and Draft Assessment Methodology
• View the PowerPoint presentation created by the CPC giving an overview of the Monitoring Plan and Draft Assessment Methodology

The Seattle Community Police Commission released the following statement after an appeals court upheld the firing of former Seattle Police Officer Adley Shepherd. Read more here.

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We applaud the court’s decision, but know there is still more work to be done to address issues with the police contracts which allowed Adley Shepherd to be reinstated after the Chief had fired him.

Seattle’s current police contracts allow for a broken arbitration system through which officers can challenge disciplinary decisions in closed-door hearings. Currently, there are nearly 100 unresolved arbitration appeals, some dating back to 2015.

We encourage City leaders to follow the court’s lead and address the issues in the police contracts, and implement the reforms in the 2017 Accountability Ordinance to prevent this from happening again.

The Office Police Accountability (OPA) released findings from its investigation into the Seattle Police Department’s shooting of Shaun Fuhr today, finding that the officers’ actions followed SPD policy and training. In response, Community Police Commission (CPC) Executive Director Brandy Grant is releasing the following statement:

“We are heartbroken for Shaun Fuhr’s loved ones and our entire community. This is a tragedy on every level. Police responses in Seattle too often result in violence, particularly when it involves people of color. We cannot continue to rely on police policy that has repeatedly allowed officers to shoot unarmed people. In no world should it be acceptable to shoot someone when they have their baby in their arms.”

The CPC does not have the power to investigate officers. However, the CPC will exercise its authority under the Accountability Ordinance to gain access to all unredacted investigatory files related to this case from OPA. We will be closely reviewing them and looking for systemic improvements to be made to work toward stopping anything like this from ever happening again.

Brandy Grant has been confirmed as the The Seattle Community Police Commission’s (CPC) permanent executive director. The CPC voted to appoint her to the position in February, and she was confirmed by City Council on March 15.

Brandy had served as the interim Executive Director of the CPC since August 2020. Prior to that she was a CPC commissioner. Brandy holds a Master’s degree in Organizational Development and has worked as a non-profit management professional for close to twenty years. She spent much of the last seven years developing public health programming that led to learning with community leaders, people with lived experience, representatives from public health, the legal and justice system, health care, and others to work to prevent more lives being affected by and lost to gun violence.

After Brandy was appointed to the position by the CPC, she and the co-chairs said:

“I am incredibly honored by this opportunity. At this critical time in police accountability, our commission has the ability and duty to make sure that we are leveraging the community’s ideas, experience, and expertise. I’m confident that by doing this, we can build toward a public safety system that our community can have faith in.”

Brandy Grant

“In our first major action as Co-chairs we are pleased to have presided over the selection of Brandy Grant as Executive Director for the CPC.  Brandy brings the leadership, experience and deep community connections that will serve the CPC in fulfilling our mission to ensure that the Community voice is centered in the accountability system in Seattle.”

Erin Goodman and La Rond Baker, CPC co-chairs

While the CPC is led by our commissioners, the Executive Director plays a crucial role in commission leadership, staff management, and implementation of the community’s police accountability priorities. Under the landmark 2017 Accountability Ordinance, the CPC Executive Director is appointed for a six-year term.

The Seattle Community Police Commission strongly supports House Bill 1310.

Too often we have seen the damaging, and sometimes fatal, consequences when officers are not properly trained and equipped to use de-escalation techniques. We have even seen situations become dire immediately when Officers respond to situations without even the intent to de-escalate. Just one month ago, Seattle police officers shot a man in mental health crisis within 30 seconds of arriving on scene. This cannot, and must not, continue to happen. That is why the Seattle Community Police Commission strongly supports HB 1310.  

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