Seattle Pursues Looser Police Hiring Standards After High-Profile Screening Failure
The Seattle Police Department hired a cop with a record of reckless driving who went on to kill Jaahnavi Kandula while driving recklessly. However, instead of tightening hiring protocols, Seattle officials are looking to loosen them further.
Seattle Police Department Is “Increasingly Unstable,” Email from Top Official Claims
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.
Seattle’s Stay Out Orders and Encampment Sweeps Continue Trend toward Criminalization
Emboldened by the Supreme Court's sweep-friendly Grants Pass decision, the Seattle City Council is advancing stay out zones in hopes of criminalizing drug abuse, sex work, and homelessness out of existence. History suggests this will not work.
Seattle Council Passes Budget Swiping Affordable Housing Funds to Boost SPD
The Sara Nelson-led Seattle City Council passed their first city budget in an 8-1 vote. It greenlit the mayor’s plan to slash investments in affordable housing and social services and trim 48 staff positions in order to boost police spending by 16% and close a large deficit without raising new taxes.
Seattle Council Seeks to Ban People Charged with Drug Crimes from Swaths of City
Hoping to disrupt the drug trade and prostitution, centrist councilmembers are resurrecting regressive exclusion zone policies that have failed repeatedly in the past.
Washington Legislature Rolls Out Wide Array of Public Safety Bills
The Washington State Legislature is considering a large array of public safety bills, from subsidizing police officer pay to tighter gun control to addressing the state’s public defense crisis. Here's a look at those bills.
Katie Wilson Jumps In Seattle Mayor Race as Progressive Coalition-Builder
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.
Inspector General Quietly Terminates Audit into Seattle Police Mutual Aid
Downgraded from a full audit and long delayed, the Office of Inspector General’s six-page mutual aid review did not assess if outside police forces patrolling the streets of Seattle would be required to follow SPD bias policies, be held to SPD force review policies, and be accountable for their actions through the Office of Police Accountability (OPA) complaint process.