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).

“The CPC remains concerned that the Seattle Police Department’s use of force and crowd control policies do not do enough to keep protesters and other members of the community safe. Since 2017, we have recommended dozens of changes to these policies, including banning tear gas and blast balls, creating protections for protest medics, and instituting higher standards for when police can declare protests to be unlawful. Just this January, we gathered feedback from the community and held a town hall that helped the CPC make 15 additional, community-based recommendations in this area. Many of these recommendations remain unimplemented.

We were not aware of SPD’s press release. However, if they are interested in better protecting our community by instituting changes to their crowd management policies – we remain ready to work with them to immediately implement the CPC’s recommendations.”