Police and Public Safety

Dave Amos of City Beautiful dives into the thorny issue of punishing bad drivers and the many challenges that stem from lawlessness and impunity on roadways.

Nathan Rouse wants to deliver public safety via holistic fixes and criminal justice reform. He's challenging incumbent Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison, who he argues has focused on scoring cheap political points rather than results.

Seattle is seeking a fix at the state legislature to grow its civilian crisis response program following resistance from the Seattle Police Officers Guild that has blocked expansion. To stay alive, Rep. Shaun Scott’s HB 1816 will need to pass out of committee before a February 21 deadline.

Kirkland Connections is a new 24/7 mental health crisis center that could prove a model for the five crisis centers a county levy approved and funded in 2023. Such services are rare in the region.

The Seattle City Council is set to vote Tuesday to formally re-authorize use of "less lethal" crowd control weapons, like the blast balls that seriously injured folks like me in the summer of 2020. It sends exactly the wrong message around police accountability and reform.

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.

A Seattle Council committee voted to move forward with Mayor Bruce Harrell's new less lethal weapons bill on Tuesday. Scheduled for a final vote on February 4, this bill is one of the last steps in Seattle exiting the consent decree, but critics are concerned it could impact Seattleites' constitutional rights of free speech and assembly.

The death of Metro operator Shawn Yim has prompted a broader discussion of safety on Seattle's overall transit system. Ideas for potential fixes are coming from elected officials, union leaders, and bus drivers themselves.