Police and Public Safety
Seattle Aims to Tamp Down Vacant Building Fires
Vacant building fires have become increasingly common in Seattle in recent years. In response to the threat that these fires can pose, Mayor Bruce...
Sunday Video: All The Ways Car Dependency Make Things Worse
Ray Delahanty of CityNerd goes through a litany of reasons why car dependency makes American society worse off from public health and environmental quality...
New Seattle Police Contract Punts on Accountability, Delivers Big 23% Raise
Mayor Harrell's contract would make Seattle police the highest paid in the region, but no more accountable.
The long-awaited new proposed contract between the City...
Seattle Council Wants to Subsidize Cop Housing While Affordable Housing Is on Chopping Block
Seattle Police Department had a net loss of 36 officers in 2023 as recruitment efforts have yet to bear fruit. This has the Seattle City Council pondering more desperate measures.
SPD Kettled Protesters in 2020, Escalated Violence, and Promoted the Commander
New footage shows how police kettled protesters, trapping them in a corridor of violence in the early days of 2020 protests. Despite the historic magnitude of financial costs to the city across multiple legal settlements, in the three-plus years since the summer of 2020, the department internally has rarely found any of its conduct to be worthy of punishment beyond a handful of oral and written reprimands.
Harrell Plans Hasty Rollout of Massive Surveillance Expansion
Mayor Harrell is seeking to quickly roll out gun-shot detectors and closed circuit cameras to feed into real-time crime center software, raising privacy concerns. Claims that this major expansion of the surveillance state will curb serious crime are largely unsubstantiated.
King County Delays Closure of Youth Jail Until at Least 2028
King County will not achieve its stated goal of closing its youth jail by 2025, Executive Dow Constantine announced last week. The new timeline is 2028 at the earliest, and some Seattle leaders remain hesitant.
Seattle Pays Out $10 Million Settlement to Protesters in Excessive Force Case
The historic case of 50 Black Lives Matter protesters came to a close on Wednesday with the announcement of a $10 million settlement. The...