Police and Public Safety

StarChase consists of GPS tracker launchers attached to police patrol cars that can deploy a GPS tracking tag onto another vehicle. The Seattle Police Department contends that acquiring this technology will help apprehend criminals without dangerous high-speed chases, but critics argue StarChase’s efficacy is low and deployment would expand the scope of warrantless surveillance.

Tasked with upholding Seattle police accountability, Inspector General Lisa Judge appears to have broken the rules herself to get free parking on the public dime for at least six years — or possibly more. The apparent cost to taxpayers has been more than $29,000 over seven years.

Evidence that led to the ouster of former SPD Chief Adrian Diaz is now coming into question, and Jamie Tompkins, the department's former Chief-of-Staff is pushing to negotiate a $3 million settlement from the city.

Friends of Little Saigon is launching an effort called Phố Đẹp or Beautiful Neighborhood to break the cycle of disinvestment and neglect and create true community safety. For Seattle’s Vietnamese community, the intersection of home and hope is Little Saigon.

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.