Police and Public Safety

Too many people are sitting in a jail cell simply because they cannot afford bail while they await trial. Seattle City Attorney candidate Nathan Rouse lays out the case to end cash ball for nonviolent misdemeanors.

Governor Bob Ferguson should sign HB 1232 into law and immediately make use of the enforcement mechanisms it contains to stop unconstitutional detentions at ICE’s Tacoma Processing Center. The State should also impose fines on the for-profit corporate jailer to discourage the violations.

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell pushed back against an auditor report calling for more coordination around gun violence prevention and criticizing SPD’s haphazard approach to investigations. Deputy Mayor Tiffani Washington said she felt disrespected by the audit process being reinitiated by Council President Sara Nelson and that the issue was already under control.

Seattle Police Department Chief Operating Officer Brian Maxey criticized his former Police Chief Sue Rahr in an email to the Seattle Ethics & Elections Commission, claiming she was directing City contracts to a company she co-founded. Maxey also complained of being cut out of decisions and of worsening morale and a schism among command staff in the email, which was obtained through a public records request.

Washington’s legal establishment, led by King County Superior Court Judge David Keenan, are lobbying to fund more youth jails while doing little to expand a fractured social safety net. We, the public defenders of SEIU 925, reject Judge Keenan’s vague, misguided proposal.

Transit Riders Union leader Katie Wilson jumped in the race to be the next mayor of Seattle today. Our interview with Wilson covers what's motivating her to run and how she would deliver results where Mayor Bruce Harrell has failed.

Ron Davis dives into Mayor Bruce Harrell's record on public safety and ultimately deems his approach a failure. On his third police chief, Harrell has not delivered on campaign promises and the Seattle Police Department is still reeling and lacking accountability.

New Seattle Police Department Chief Shon Barnes outlined his strategy in a presentation to the Seattle City Council, pledging the department would put scandals behind it and forge ahead with new resolve.