SCORE

Surveillance cameras don’t prevent violence, or why I feel like a broken record

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Seattle News:

Yesterday several elected officials – Mayor Katie Wilson, Council President Joy Hollingsworth, Councilmembers Debora Juarez, Bob Kettle, Maritza Rivera, and Dan Strauss, and Seattle City Attorney Erika Evans – along with SPD Chief Shon Barnes, held a press conference about the gun violence along Aurora Ave N. 

Mostly those named above talked about solving the problem with police and prosecutions, as well as by the strategic blocking of certain streets. Kettle touted the importance of the real time crime center and license plate readers, although there is no evidence that shows these technologies prevent violence. Interestingly, Aurora Ave N is one of the zones where CCTV cameras have been installed and operational in Seattle, and yet somehow there is still gun violence happening there. Hmm. 

Kettle also spoke of the importance of hiring more police officers. 

Evans said her office has asked for funding for a dedicated Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) prosecutor, which she says would help get guns off the streets. Her office is also aggressively pursuing businesses and properties that break chronic nuisance laws. 

Lastly, her office is working to have a dedicated, dually-deputized prosecutor in their office that will work on felony trafficking cases on Aurora in partnership with the King County Prosecutor’s office. I’m not really sure why having this prosecutor work in the Seattle City Attorney’s office (CAO) versus the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s office (KCPAO) makes a difference. Traditionally CAO only prosecutes misdemeanors and gross misdemeanors, while the KCPAO handles all felonies. It could be that this might improve collaboration between the offices or it might be solely an issue of money (who’s going to pay for this prosecutor’s salary). 

Evans stated unequivocally that SOAP and SODA orders do not work and that she will be pursuing other strategies. 

Not mentioned were the environmental changes made to Aurora Ave in Shoreline that seem to have helped deter violence there. Solutions such as increased social supports, a coordinated gun violence prevention strategy, and legalized sex work were also not emphasized. 

That being said (see below), Wilson is reportedly working on a gun violence prevention strategy, but unfortunately the details still haven’t been announced. 

Meanwhile, The Seattle Medium reported that Black girls represent between 44% and 52% of child sex trafficking victims in King County. 

Earlier this week, the Seattle City Council passed the one-year data center moratorium and related resolution, after which Washington AI resistance (WA-AIR) held a press conference announcing a new campaign for their People’s AI Bill of Rights, which will be a package of bills regulating AI introduced during the 2027 state legislative session. The campaign will begin with a state-wide listening tour. 

Wilson announced that the City would be turning on the CCTV cameras located in the Stadium District due to “general but credible threats to security during the games” provided to her during briefings with SPD and the FBI. Two days before the announcement, she publicly defined a credible threat in more narrow terms, that being the standard she had originally announced she was planning to use to inform her decision as to whether to turn on the cameras. To read more about it, check out the op-ed by Phil Mocek published by PubliCola.

The Seattle Auditor’s Office released a status report on implementation of their recommendations covering the time period through December 2025. Of note:

  • Re their 2024 Annual Surveillance Technology Usage Review (released in September 2025), SDOT has implemented two out of eight recommendations.
  • Re their Four Recommendations to Better Understand and Address Current Gun Violence Patterns in Seattle (released in March 2025), all four recommendations remain pending: “The Mayor’s Office reported that they have begun development of a comprehensive gun violence reduction strategy that will build on work begun by the Human Services Department and be led by the Mayor. Specifically, the Mayor’s Office has begun to assess existing gun violence reduction programs, identify gaps, and build a comprehensive strategy sponsored by the Mayor.”
  • Re their Addressing Places in Seattle Where Overdoses and Crime are Concentrated: An Evidence-Based Approach (released in July 2024), two out of eight recommendations have been completed: “The Mayor’s Office reported that components of the Downtown Activation Team’s (DAT) work, including its place-based problem-solving methodology, are moving forward under the Stabilize, Activate, and Invest (SAIL) Subcabinet. The Mayor’s Office indicated they will tailor crime and overdose strategies, and the corresponding deployment of resources, to more specifically defined and localized problems, beginning with implementation of the Phố Đẹp safety plan in Little Saigon and the expansion of the Seattle Police Department’s Neighborhood Resource Officer program to 12th & Jackson and 3rd & Pine. The Mayor’s Office also indicated that the current administration does not intend to evaluate the preceding administration’s work of the DAT and Seattle Restoration Framework, but will instead collaborate with public health, public safety, and community partners to establish agreed upon metrics for success for each location and reporting expectations.”

A quick update on an earlier item regarding the possibility of a special fire district tax: PubliCola has reported that the firefighters’ union is opposed to the idea so the Mayor’s Office isn’t pursuing it this year. This means one fewer tool to address the $175 million deficit for 2027.

In SPD lawsuit news, two gay SPD officers are suing the department alleging discrimination and being passed over for promotion. The City of Seattle is paying a $2.6 million settlement in the lawsuit of four female SPD officers alleging sexual harassment from former Chief Adrian Diaz. The Seattle Times reports that three of the four women remain employed at SPD. 

For more uplifting news, I wrote about the soil-turning and future plans for a new health center in Rainier Beach. If you want to read about community members coming together to make a difference, this is the article for you. 

Other news: 

I wrote about an inmate who died of an overdose last year while in custody at SCORE jail. I really encourage you to check this one out because the ongoing issues at SCORE are for the most part not being covered by mainstream media like The Seattle Times or the local news networks. I dove deeper into the quality of healthcare being offered by jails and prisons in general, and it’s an ugly story that has parallels to how people detained by ICE are being treated. 

I also dove into last year’s King County DCHS audit with an update on what’s been found and what measures are being taken to ensure accountability and transparency as DCHS goes about their work. 

King County Executive Girmay Zahilay gave his State of the County address this week and committed to investing “nearly $5 million” in the Regional Office of Gun Violence Prevention. I’m not clear on how much of this is additive, but as an important office that is perennially under-funded, this is good news. 

The City of Edmonds unanimously voted to cancel the City’s contract with Flock Safety for automated license plate readers.

Finally, Jeff Asher wrote that large police departments are beginning to grow their ranks again, after a contraction after the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020. 

Asher wrote, “The hiring environment still isn’t great for police officers, but it is far improved from where it was three or four years ago. Most medium and large police departments will likely be stuck at considerably smaller levels than they were pre-COVID, but the evidence suggests they might see slow and steady growth over the next few years.”

Recent Headlines:

Surveillance cameras don’t prevent violence, or why I feel like a broken record Read More »

Turmoil continues at SPD; WA State legislators search for new revenue to bridge a huge deficit

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Seattle News:

First of all, my interview with Seattle City Attorney candidate Erika Evans is now out. This race is shaping up to be very competitive, with three candidates challenging incumbent Ann Davison. I think one of the big challenges of the race will be for the three candidates, who are united in their criticism of Davison, to distinguish themselves from one another. 

I also had a piece out about SPD and an email that recently came to light. In mid-January, SPD COO Brian Maxey wrote to the head of the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, calling the department “increasingly unstable” and referencing “chaos.” I also take a look at all the recent lawsuits coming out of SPD and how SPD complaint systems are potentially being weaponized.

The revenue report for the end of 2024 was released this week, and it contained bad news about the JumpStart payroll expense tax, which collected $47 million less in 2024 than forecasts had predicted. It is important to note, however, that the tax still brought in more money in 2024 than it did in 2023 (by $45 million.) 

This underscores the dangers of using the JumpStart tax to backfill the general fund as opposed to using it to fund affordable housing, investments which can more easily be adjusted to match whatever revenues are produced by this more volatile funding source.  

Last week, Councilmember Cathy Moore decided to direct $1 million in City funding for survivors of commercial sexual exploitation to The More We Love, bypassing a competitive bidding process that had been expected by other providers in the region.

As PubliCola reports, “Representatives from existing Black-led groups that work with survivors said that by giving $1 million to a white-led group that has not previously held a contract to work with CSE survivors, the city is ignoring and undermining the expertise of organizations that focus on Black and brown survivors, who make up a disproportionate number of people in the commercial sex trade.”

And also, “Many of the organizational leaders who spoke to PubliCola said they felt the city had not only wasted their time but violated their trust.”

Finally, Councilmember Rob Saka’s resolution denouncing the defund movement passed a full council vote this week. Councilmembers Alexis Mercedes Rinck, Cathy Moore, and Dan Strauss were not present for the vote. 

In order to clear up any confusion, this ordinance was not necessary to end Seattle’s consent decree. In addition, it does not provide a complete assessment of all the reasons behind SPD’s attrition in recent years, which mirrors that of other police departments across the country. DivestSPD brought up the point that many police officers hired in the 1990s by COPS grants started reaching retirement age in the past ten years. In addition, some officers left due to Covid vaccine mandates. 

PubliCola does an excellent job covering some of what was said about this ordinance on Tuesday.

That this resolution would be a top matter of council business over the last few weeks appears to demonstrate a lack of urgency on the part of certain councilmembers when it comes to the rolling impacts of federal-level decisions made during that same time period. 

Next week I’ll be covering the latest news of local impacts due to the decisions of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. This week, committees from both the King County Council and the Seattle City Council received more information about what’s happening on the ground right now. 

King County News:

As one of his last acts as King County Executive, Dow Constantine nominated Matt Sanders, who is currently acting as the interim director of the King County Department of Public Defense, to continue as the permanent director. The King County Council will vote on whether to confirm this nomination sometime in the next few months. 

SEIU 925, the union that represents public defenders and other legal professionals in the department, opposes this nomination, PubliCola reported. PubliCola writes: “Rank and file union members have expressed concerns about Sanders, saying his management style has contributed to low morale and high turnover at the agency.” 

The union prefers Snohomish County public defense department director Jason Schwartz for the position.

This week the King County Council appointed Deputy County Executive Shannon Braddock to serve as acting County Executive following the departure of Dow Constantine for Sound Transit. Braddock indicated interest in AI implementation during her brief tenure as County Executive, even though this is a policy area about which she said, “I am not a technology expert. I don’t know these things.” 

Another death has been reported at the SCORE jail this week, marking at least 11 deaths that have taken place inside the jail in a 2-year period. PubliCola has been untiring in its coverage of this local deadly jail, even though “Rivera was the only one of 45 city leaders from the six cities that own SCORE who agreed to speak to PubliCola about conditions at the jail.” (Rivera is a councilmember from Renton.) 

As Andy Engelson, the reporter covering this story, told me on Bluesky, “The only time SCORE has answered questions from one of the 6 cities that own it, there were just 12 minutes for questions and no time for public comment.” 

WA State News:

Yesterday I had a piece out that covers the discussions around the state’s operating budget, which will need to be finalized before the end of the month. There are many progressive revenue options on the table for the House and Senate to discuss. Complicating matters, Governor Bob Ferguson has indicated he will veto any budget that implements the so-called “wealth tax” or that doesn’t have $100 million over two years for police hiring grants. 

Apparently state Democrats are now looking for alternate taxes to make up the difference in revenue that would have been provided by a new wealth tax. Options include other business taxes and changing the capital gains tax. Many of the taxes under discussion, however, bring in relatively small amounts of revenue compared to the wealth tax, which was estimated to provide between $2.4 and $4 billion annually beginning in fiscal year 2027. 

The state legislative session is scheduled to end on April 27.

Recent Headlines:

Turmoil continues at SPD; WA State legislators search for new revenue to bridge a huge deficit Read More »

Cities that own SCORE jail seem uninterested in accountability or improvement

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SCORE Jail:

PubliCola has continued its crucial coverage of the terrible conditions at the local SCORE jail in Des Moines. 11 people held in the jail have now died over the past two years, which is a shockingly high number. The jail has been reported to have inadequate medical care, filthy conditions, and contemptuous staff. 

The jail is owned and operated by six local cities–Auburn, Burien, Des Moines, Renton, SeaTac, and Tukwila–and it has contracts with many more local cities, including Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Shoreline, Kenmore, Federal Way, and more. The jail is run by an executive director who reports to an administrative board with representatives from the six cities. 

The most recent board meeting was this past Wednesday, when the executive director called PubliCola’s recent reporting “misinformation.” The board didn’t ask the executive director anything about the conditions and facts reported in the article nor showed any interest in accountability or improving conditions inside this deadly facility. 

If you live in one of the six cities that operates the jail, here is a document with talking points and contact information.

Seattle News:

I sat down last week with Seattle City Attorney candidate and current public defender Nathan Rouse, and we had a long talk about his road in deciding to run and his vision for the Seattle City Attorney’s office. 

Real Change ran an op-ed by David Stoesz this week, entitled “Facts and evidence are our greatest strength: A response to Katie Wilson.” He makes some compelling arguments, and he also provides a nugget of information I think is important to emphasize. 

While discussing how in addition to housing, some folks are also in need of wrap-around services, Stoesz says that Plymouth Housing has calculated that one year of assisted living with the highest level of service costs the same as three days at Harborview or three months at the King County Jail. (King County Councilmember Sarah Perry said at a meeting this past Tuesday that a night at the King County Jail costs $250 per night.) 

While there are plenty of other evidence-based reasons why housing first and providing services to folks is smart policy, in this time of looming governmental budget deficits, remembering the relative cost of these policies is also useful. 

The City Attorney’s Office has slightly relaxed their blanket affidavits of prejudice against sitting Seattle Municipal Court Judge Pooja Vaddadi, who is now able to oversee some criminal cases. However, the Office still filed several affidavits of prejudice against her last week for DUI and domestic violence cases, and her primary assignment remains in infractions, as she does not yet have enough criminal cases for a full courtroom calendar. 

New interim SPD Chief Shon Barnes presented to the city council’s public safety committee for the first time on Tuesday. I’ll be reporting more on that meeting soon. 

Seattle awarded $22 million through its Equitable Development Initiative (EDI) in January. Projects funded include: “Africatown Community Land Trust (completing the Africatown Plaza development), Cham Refugees Community (completing a Cham community center), Rainier Beach Action Coalition (completion of the Food Innovation Center), the Somali Health Board (assisting construction of the Somali Community Cultural Innovation Hub), and Trans Women of Color Solidarity Network.”

WA State News:

The fiscal committee cut-off for bills this legislative session is TODAY, so soon I’ll be going through a bunch of interesting bills to see if they survived. I can already tell you that the Traffic Safety for All bill has unfortunately died. 

Yesterday Governor Bob Ferguson proposed $4 billion in state budget cuts. These cuts, combined with those proposed by former Governor Jay Inslee before his departure, would add up to $7 billion of a budget gap Ferguson is now estimating will be $15 billion over the next four years. 

Part of his plan involves state workers taking one unpaid day off per month. These furloughs would begin in July and save the state $300 million. He also wants to cut funding to food banks, which, given the combination of potential federal cuts to the SNAP food assistance program and the much higher demand on food banks since the pandemic began in 2020, seems potentially disastrous. 

Ferguson says it’s still too soon to say whether he’ll support state tax increases, which seems strange, given that were his cuts to be adopted, they still only address half of the state’s four-year budget deficit. There is also no word on how he is considering dealing with any federal fund cuts. Again, Washington State received $27 billion from the federal government in fiscal year 2024. 

In Praise:

I highly recommend reading author and organizer Kelly Hayes’s most recent piece, How to be a Fighter When You Feel Like a Punching Bag. It is long so you will need to put aside some time to read it (or there is also a listening option!), but I found it incredibly valuable and think it is worth your time. 

Among other topics, it covers:

  • Agency, trauma, learned helplessness, and feeling stuck/frozen in the current onslaught
  • The impact of social media, the bubbles it often relegates us to and how that encourages despair, isolation, and misanthropy, and the necessity for trust in order to organize collective action
  • The necessity of building social skills and relationships to meet this moment, as well as the importance of community
  • A key quote in the piece from Aaron Goggans: “Every time Musk or Trump weaponizes cruelty to shock a group into compliance we have to show, not with our outrage but with our care, that another response is possible.”
  • The strategy of taking small steps of agency and thinking about what activities/routines you can add to your life that are aligned with your values and keep you more informed and connected.

I hope you all find this piece to be as inspiring and helpful as I did. 

Recent Headlines:

Cities that own SCORE jail seem uninterested in accountability or improvement Read More »

SPD officers are some of the best-paid workers in the city

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Election News:

First, the elephant in the room. Last week we had an impactful election.

While the nation elected Republican Donald Trump to be our next president, local results were much more promising for progressives. Interestingly, Washington was one of only two states (along with Utah) who shifted further left rather than right. 

Three of the four Washington state-level initiatives backed by millionaire and hedge fund manager Brian Heywood failed, with Washingtonians voting resoundingly in support of progressive revenue, public education, long-term care insurance made possible by universal participation, and prioritizing the climate and environment. Only the initiative regarding natural gas access succeeded and is now likely to face legal challenges. Initiative 2109, which would have repealed the state level capital gains tax, passed with a resounding 63.91% of votes. 

In Seattle, Alexis Mercedes Rinck decisively triumphed over Tanya Woo. The Council had appointed Woo earlier this year to fill the at-large seat vacated by Teresa Mosqueda, who moved over to the King County Council (where, btw, she is busy working on making their budget process a little more transparent). Rinck currently has 197,428 votes, which is 57.94% of the total vote. The newly formed Progressive People Power PAC spent around $177,000 supporting Rinck.

Meanwhile, Democratic Socialist Shaun Scott, running against Andrea Suarez to be state representative for the 43rd Legislative District, won with 68.53% of the vote. 

Discussions now abound about what these local results could mean for the 2025 elections, when Seattle will be voting for the positions of mayor, city attorney, and the two at-large councilmembers, including Council President Sara Nelson’s seat. 

Budget News:

The second and final Seattle budget public hearing is tomorrow, Tuesday, November 12, beginning at 5pm. Sign up for public comment here. That hearing is followed by three full days of budget meetings to discuss councilmember amendments, so you know what I’ll be doing for the rest of the week. 

Councilmember Cathy Moore proposed a 2% capital gains tax to go into effect at the beginning of 2026. Her co-sponsors are Councilmember Tammy Morales and Councilmember Rob Saka. Her proposed “spending plan” is expressed in a single sentence: “Proceeds of the capital gains excise tax are intended to support rental assistance to rent burdened households, down payment assistance to low, moderate, and workforce households, and food assistance to food insecure households.”

Meanwhile, Budget Chair Dan Strauss’s proposal regarding changing the JumpStart tax legislation would, just as the Mayor’s original proposal did, do away with required percentage allocation of the tax revenue to pay for affordable housing, Green New Deal, and equitable development investments, a policy move I continue to oppose.

Morales has proposed amendments to the Mayor’s proposed JumpStart legislation. She has also proposed two statements of intent (SLIs) regarding progressive revenue, investigating a professional services excise tax and a digital ad tax.

A city budget tracker tool that provided increased transparency to the budget process has been removed. I will say as someone who has followed Seattle’s budget process closely since 2020, there has been a marked difference in reduced transparency this year, especially as key documents aren’t being shared publicly until the very last moment.  

Seattle criminal legal system news:

Andy Engelson reported there was another death in the SCORE jail in August, meaning 8 people have died there in the past 2 years. Seattle has been actively working on a contract with SCORE.

SPD Deputy Chief Eric Barden sent an email to all officers last week celebrating the end of the King County Jail’s booking restrictions for misdemeanors and instructing officers to increase arrests. 

The Office of Police Accountability (OPA) sustained allegations against SPD Officer Kevin Dave, who ran over and killed Jaahnavi Kandula with his patrol car on January 23, 2023. The next step is for discipline to be decided.

Interim SPD Chief Sue Rahr is apparently clashing with the OPA and its civilian director Gino Betts. She has overturned or modified more disciplinary recommendations from the OPA over the last six months than had been done by former Chief Adrian Diaz and former Chief Carmen Best during the last five years. 

Meanwhile, Jamie Tompkins, who was Diaz’s former chief-of-staff who was put on leave from SPD recently, just resigned. There were rumors that she and Diaz were romantically involved.

Ron Willis, an SPD officer, was suspended again (for 90 unpaid hours) for filing excessive overtime hours. PubliCola reported he “reported working 133 hours in a single week, including 93 hours of overtime, plus 10 hours of vacation.” He was first suspended for the same offense back in 2021. Willis has appealed his punishment, saying it’s “excessive.” It’s worth clicking over to the article to read excerpts from Rahr’s report on the matter, in which she sounds quite exasperated by how unrepentant Willis appears.

DivestSPD revealed that five other SPD officers reported more overtime than Willis last year, meaning “it’s mathematically impossible that they didn’t violate the same rules as he did.” However, they do not appear to be under current investigation by the OPA.

Finally, new census data for 2023 shows that in Seattle, law enforcement workers have the second highest level of compensation, with median earnings of $124,600. The highest level of compensation is enjoyed by tech workers (specified as computer and mathematical workers), who earned a median of $157,200. 

As The Seattle Times reports: “While the median earnings for law-enforcement workers was $32,000 lower than that of tech workers last year, the gap could shrink. In May, the Seattle City Council approved a new contract with the Seattle police union that includes significant increases in compensation, and which will make Seattle officers the highest paid in the state.”

The new SPOG contract also meant significant backpay for SPD officers, which would be reflected in their 2024 earnings.

Meanwhile, for 2023, legal workers (aka lawyers) were ranked fourth with median earnings of $116,061. And community and social service workers had median earnings of $58,810, less than half that of the median law enforcement wage.

Recent Headlines:

 

SPD officers are some of the best-paid workers in the city Read More »

More ghost cops found in Seattle’s budget as Council wonders how their “new crimes” will impact expenses

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Seattle News:

On Monday, the budget committee heard issue identification presentations from their Central Staff on SPD (memo), the CARE department (memo), SFD, and LAW (memo), which in addition to the City Attorney’s Office also included issues related to the Seattle Municipal Court (SMC). 

SPD:

It turns out there are more ghost cop positions than SPD’s Executive Director of Budget and Finance Angela Socci admitted to in SPD’s budget presentation a few weeks ago. Who would have thought! A reminder that SPD Captain James Britt also gave extremely misleading statements a few months ago about SPD’s current real time crime center, saying it had never been operational when there is proof it was being used back in 2020. 

Central Staff identified 35 additional ghost cop positions in the proposed budget, which account for an additional $6.5 million per year. In the proposal, SPD has 1076 FTE funded for sworn officers, but based on their hiring and separation estimates won’t be able to get past 1041 FTE. 

Per Greg Doss from Central Staff, 154 FTE from SPD were immediately not funded, 23 FTE were unfunded to put $4.3 million back into the General Fund, and 23 FTE were unfunded to provide $4.3 million for more SPD overtime. This is how the 1076 number was reached.

SPD is also receiving an additional $10 million in overtime for “emphasis patrols” in 2025, but that amount is not yet included in the 2026 budget. Doss suggested Council might want to spend the newly found $6.5 million on providing $10 million in additional overtime in 2026. 

No mention was made of the $1.5 million for hiring bonuses that Socci had indicated in the previous SPD presentation was also being funded by salary savings. 

Council President Sara Nelson said the council has “created a few new crimes” and wondered why overtime wasn’t projected to go up even further as a result. 

The parking enforcement officers (PEO) also have 19-20 vacant positions (out of a total 104). One suggestion was to use some (or all?) of this salary savings to fund two new training positions to help streamline the PEO hiring and training process. 

Council also discussed SPD’s 30×30 initiative, which has a goal to hire more women officers at SPD. There will be a more detailed presentation on this initiative at the end of the year after budget season is over. Possible measures being discussed are more flexible work schedules and flexible round-the-clock child care. 

Councilmember Robert Kettle took the opportunity to once again blame the previous council for current staffing at SPD.

CARE:

Central Staff explained that the CARE dual dispatch has been difficult to implement because the CARE team is designed to respond to Priority 3 and 4 calls, but they have been located in places with a large call load of Priority 1 and 2 calls. This means officers aren’t available to be on the scene for the lower level calls, preventing CARE from doing anything but sitting around and waiting for them, often for so long that they are no longer needed once SPD arrives. 

Thus far CARE has only been dispatched less than twice per month. They are more often requested as a secondary response, often to provide transport. 

However, starting on October 8, CARE made operational changes to proactively drive around and respond to “quasi-medical calls,” increasing their activity. However, Health One will soon begin responding to behavioral health calls so there is some confusion as to the distinction between Health One and the CARE team.

The CARE team has been limited to the dual dispatch model due to the SPOG contract. 

Another policy consideration was related to data collection by CARE, which isn’t as robust as hoped, at least partly because the team is being dispatched so infrequently. The council is considering a state of legislative intent (SLI) to have CARE develop more robust data collection.

A new Seattle Restoration Director position is also being added to CARE. This person, who has already been hired, is coordinating the work done by the Downtown Activation Team (DAT) and might have a much expanded role in future to help re-envision 911 response in the city with the potential for many different services/people to be dispatchable. 

Kettle said the City needs to take SPD from being so central to its public safety response. He mentioned the roles that public health and public services have to play in public safety overall,

LAW and SMC:

LAW is worried because they will potentially be losing two civil attorney positions and one criminal attorney position in 2025. In addition to keeping that criminal attorney, they’d like to hire an additional “floating prosecutor.” 

Central Staff also identified that additional funding for implementation of new policies enacted in 2024 such as SOAP, SODA, the new street racing ordinance, the re-criminalization of prostitution loitering, and the new SCORE jail contract, has not been included in Harrell’s proposed budget. 

SMC has said they will probably need an additional $196,000 in 2025 and $520,000 in 2026 to transport defendants to and from the SCORE jail. Otherwise they would need to spend even more money for a new judicial department that could manage all the virtual hearings for those housed at SCORE. 

Kettle said he is worried about the health of the “criminal justice system.”

Other Seattle News:

The city council also received the updated revenue forecast for 2025, which was mixed. JumpStart and REET revenue looks like it will be slightly up, but General Fund revenues will be down by around $20 million (driven by lower sales and B&O taxes), a further gap for the city council to fill. 

This week the new police officer training academy in Arlington celebrated a soft opening. The facility is expected to be open fully by 2025 and could speed up training times for police officers.

The results of the gender-based violence prevention services investment passed in the 2024 budget have finally been announced. 

The Stranger drills down deeper on the new less lethal weapons legislation being proposed by Harrell, including a lift on the blast ball ban. You can read some of the justification being presented for this proposal in my consent decree article from last week. 

A Washington state defense attorney, John Sheeran, has been indicted for allegedly smuggling drugs into the King County Jail. Drugs he is accused of smuggling include methamphetamine, ketamine, buprenorphine, and THC. He was the defense attorney who initially represented Ed Troyer, the Sheriff of Pierce County, in the suit regarding the Black newspaper carrier. Troyer is not running for reelection this year.  

The Seattle Student Union is asking for more money in the Seattle budget for student mental health services and also wants a student advisory council to be established to have a larger voice in how any money is spent. 

Other Stories:

Austin Field writes about the new public defender caseload standards that are currently being considered by the state Supreme Court. He argues that public defenders are the main line of defense against law enforcement vigilantism. He writes: “To be clear, reducing public defender workloads isn’t about Republicans versus Democrats or even prosecutors versus defenders—some prosecutors acknowledge the need for better public defense. This caseload fight is about democracy versus authoritarianism.”

You can provide public comment to the Court about this matter here. 

Meanwhile, a Washington state watchdog office recently published a report finding that prisoners in solitary confinement in Washington state aren’t receiving basic quality-of-life care and are subject to “dehumanizing and traumatizing” restraint practices. 

Unsurprisingly the Washington Department of Corrections argues that they need more money to make progress on their goals related to solitary confinement. 

The Washington State Standard reports:

 “But Seevers, with Disability Rights Washington, said that there are several easy policy changes that the agency can make to reduce solitary confinement without additional funding, such as raising the standard of proof for infractions, as people are often put in solitary confinement while awaiting a decision on disciplinary action. “DOC has demonstrated that they’re not going to make changes unless there’s a legislative mandate for them to do so,” Seevers said.” 

Recent Headlines:

More ghost cops found in Seattle’s budget as Council wonders how their “new crimes” will impact expenses Read More »

Harrell’s proposed budget might lead to permanent defunding of affordable housing

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Seattle News:

The big news this week is Mayor Bruce Harrell’s proposed 2025-2026 budget. Here is an overview from the Budget Director of the proposed budget, along with a list of summary and related articles:

In the proposed budget, Harrell moved MORE than the amount of the deficit from the Jumpstart tax fund to cover that deficit. (For those who want figures, he’s transferring $287 million from Jumpstart to the General Fund, and his Budget Director is now saying the deficit for 2025 is around $250 million.) 

This means significantly LESS money for affordable housing, the Green New Deal, small business support, and the Equitable Development Initiative, which Jumpstart is supposed to fund. 

He also cut many programs and 159 positions, 76 of which are currently filled. This means 76 layoffs.

Through a combination of defunding affordable housing and other Jumpstart prioritizing, cutting city programs, and planning for layoffs, he was able to fund some new priorities in the proposed budget, many of which center around public safety.

SPD’s budget is increasing by 16%, or $62 million, in 2025, standing at $457 million. It now constitutes 26% of the entire General Fund. The department’s “ghost cop” positions are maintained, and 30 more civilian positions are added, including 7 new civilian investigators, 2 new special parking enforcement officer positions, and 21 new Real Time Crime Center analysts, 12 to begin in 2025 and the remainder to begin in 2026.

SPD emphasis patrols in the new SODA and SOAP zones will receive an additional $10 million. Almost $4 million are allocated for the surveillance technology pilot that includes RTCC software and CCTV cameras, compared to $1.5 million allocated for this purpose in the 2024 budget.

Seattle will be spending almost $3 million for beds at the SCORE jail in Des Moines, as well as an additional $2 million for more beds in the King County Jail. 

The Unified Care Team that performs the city’s encampment sweeps will be receiving an additional $3.19 million and will be conducting sweeps on weekends.

There will also be legislation transmitted to the council to make permanent the city’s ability to use the Jumpstart payroll tax funds to pay for General Fund priorities however it chooses. Were this change to be made permanent, in future years it could lead to even further defunding of affordable housing, Green New Deal, small business support, and the Equitable Development Initiative. 

The next opportunity to give public comment on the budget is on Wednesday, October 16 starting at 5pm. Budget Chair Dan Strauss has said everyone planning to speak at that particular hearing will receive two minutes to speak. (During most of the public comment periods, if there are enough speakers present, time will be cut to one minute or even 30 seconds.)

If you want a break from thinking about the budget, you can read my article on the new surveillance technology approved by the public safety committee this week. A final vote on the new technologies–CCTV cameras and RTCC software–is expected on Tuesday, October 8 at 2pm.

Other News:

King County Executive Dow Constantine announced the county’s proposed budget this week. Some investments include: 

  • $7.9 million to maintain the Regional Peacekeepers Collective’s work to prevent gun violence
  • $2.3 million for 13 new juvenile detention officers at the Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center, otherwise known as the youth jail; two new juvenile probation counselors; and additional community programs and transition navigators for youth in and exiting detention
  • $1.725 million for installing “jump barriers” and replacing bunks at the King County Jail to make it harder to commit suicide
  • $56 million to support affordable housing projects within a half mile of a transit station

Marcus Harrison Green wrote (his first?) column at The Stranger in defense of closing the youth jail. Here’s a little taste:

“Instead of blaming a strategy to diminish incarceration that has not been fully implemented, fully funded, or fully committed to, you’d think he and other King County Council Members might be the first to admonish and blame our current system, which is still heavily focused on a carceral approach that has resulted in a 61% rise in juvenile bookings last year, and the same percentage rise in bookings so far this year—returning us to the incarceration levels of 2019.”

Tacoma’s police chief was suddenly placed on leave earlier this week, and in a bizarre turn, the city is refusing to answer any questions about it. 

Recent Headlines:

 

Harrell’s proposed budget might lead to permanent defunding of affordable housing Read More »

Seattle City Council Gets a Little Bit Messy

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Seattle News:

First off, allow me to highlight my article last week at the Urbanist about the new rushed SCORE jail contract being considered by Seattle City Council. The contract was then passed by full Council vote last Tuesday. 

In fact, that meeting on Tuesday, August 6 was such a doozie that I was hearing about it even though I was on vacation. The Council was supposed to vote on whether to put I-137 (funding for social housing) on the November ballot, and for this reason Council President Sara Nelson said she was limiting public comment to one hour even though many people had signed up to speak out against the new jail contract. 

After the public comment period, Councilmember Bob Kettle moved to remove the procedural vote on putting I-137 on the ballot from the agenda, citing some unknown last minute legal concerns. What these legal reasons might be is unclear, as any legal issue with the initiative itself would likely be a matter for the courts, not the City Council. The delay passed on a 7-1 vote, with Councilmember Cathy Moore abstaining and Councilmember Tammy Morales voting against. Morales suggested that delaying the vote would open the councilmembers up to a recall.

A recall would require making the argument that the Council was acting in a political manner by deliberately intending to place the initiative on a less advantageous ballot by delaying it until a special election in February. The longer they wait to act upon the initiative and the more other business they do while waiting, the more they open themselves up to a potential recall challenge. 

However, at this Tuesday’s (8/13) full Council meeting, during the I-137 agenda item, the council had someone available to answer questions, and not a single councilmember availed themselves of this opportunity. There wasn’t any discussion or conversation about the initiative. In comparing this initiative to Council actions around previous initiatives, one could begin to build a case that this is a deviation from established practice, which is what would be required to show political intent and support a recall action. 

For now we’ll wait and see if the council advances a serious alternative to I-137 and how long it takes them to accomplish this.

Meanwhile, at last week’s meeting, those present for public comment, many of whom hadn’t been allowed to speak, were understandably upset by the delay of the I-137 vote, especially considering that had been the stated reason for not letting them speak. The meeting was interrupted by their protests, and after taking two ten-minute recesses, Nelson gave up and conducted the rest of the meeting remotely.

The SCORE jail contract was passed with an amendment that requires the Mayor’s office report on operational issues with the new plan. However, the amendment did not require that any fixes be found for issues, and the total price tag of the new contract is still in question.

This Tuesday, August 13, was also a big day for the Seattle city council. In the morning the public safety committee met to discuss the new SODA and SOAP legislation that further criminalizes drug use and sex work, including by establishing specific geographic zones where people can be banned from entering due to previous arrests. I’ll have an article out in the Urbanist next week with more analysis, but in the meantime, you can read a lot more about it here:

Then at the afternoon full council meeting, the council voted on the mid-year supplemental budget. Councilmember Tammy Morales made one last attempt to recover the remaining $10 million promised to students for mental health resources during budget season last year, but she was thwarted by Councilmember Dan Strauss, who proposed an amendment allocating $2.25 million of those dollars. His amendment passed with a unanimous vote. 

The new supplemental budget approved by Council this week included $800,000 for additional SPD marketing, for which the city is already paying $2.6 million in 2024.

The Council will be on their summer recess starting August 19 through Labor Day. Publication of Notes from the Emerald City might be a bit sporadic during this time, but fear not, I am busily gearing up for budget season!

Other News Tidbits

You can take a look at SPD’s new animated recruitment ads here.

Seattle’s latest budget forecast saw next year’s budget deficit expand by another $7 million. The deficit is now believed to be more than $260 million.

The City of Seattle learned of additional money coming their way from opioid settlements, and Mayor Bruce Harrell announced the expenditure of $2.85 million to support additional bed capacity at Valley Cities Recovery Place Seattle in Beacon Hill. The investment will pay for approximately 13 additional detox and inpatient treatment beds that could serve as many as 150 people per year. 

‘Operation Safe Transit’ is a pilot program operated by King County and the King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) launched on May 1 to “make transit safer, combat crime, and provide behavioral health supports and resources, particularly along the transit corridor in downtown Seattle.” So far the initiative has resulted in 86 arrests. Since May, the King County Jail has made exceptions to bookings for misdemeanor crimes committed in the transit system at the request of KCSO.

PubliCola did a great job documenting the dysfunction and problems at the Community Police Commission (CPC), one of Seattle’s three police accountability bodies. 

Important dates coming up: 

  • On August 27, the full King County Council will consider whether to support the eventual closure of youth detention as has been laid out by Executive Dow Constantine. 
  • On August 28, King County’s Law & Justice committee will once again take up the matter of youth solitary confinement.
  • Also on August 28, there will be a Seattle Public School school board meeting, the final one before the new school year begins. 

Recent Headlines:

Seattle City Council Gets a Little Bit Messy Read More »

Seattle electeds are feeling especially “tough on crime” this week

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Has anyone else been feeling like local news has been moving at a breakneck pace this summer? Or is it just me?

In any case, I’m off on vacation next week, so we’ll have to play catch up when I’m back. In the meantime, happy voting in the primary next week!

Seattle News:

You can now read my piece over at the Urbanist about problems with SPD backgrounding highlighted in the Kevin Dave case, the police entrance exam continuing to be used as a scapegoat, and attacks by SPD and SPOG against Seattle’s police accountability system.

In other news of SPD backgrounding problems, Divest SPD uncovered that another SPD officer, Detective Anthony Belgarde, hit and killed a man with his car a year before applying to SPD. SPD was aware of the incident and hired him anyway. 

Belgarde has a spotty history since then, documented by DivestSPD, which includes an off-duty brawl for which OPA missed the investigation deadline, an alleged incident of drunk driving, and firing wildly at a car (a case for which OPA sustained allegations but the police chief overturned them). Right now he’s under investigation for pulling over a bus in his unmarked car.

This week the public safety committee heard a presentation on the new proposed contract between the City and the SCORE jail down in Des Moines. I’ll have a story about this out soon at the Urbanist, but in the meantime, you can read about it here and here. The new jail legislation passed out of committee on a 4-0 vote with Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth abstaining. It is expected to cost a minimum of $2 million per year, but we won’t know what other expenses related to the contract will be until Mayor Bruce Harrell releases his proposed budget at the end of September.

It’s also worth noting this new SCORE contract could have longer-term implications for how the City’s criminal legal system operates.

The new SCORE contract is expected to be voted on at Full Council on Tuesday, August 6 at 2pm. 

Also next week will be a discussion of the mid-year supplemental budget and proposed amendments by the Select Budget committee on Wednesday, August 7 at 9:30am. One of the issues on the table will be whether Seattle students will be receiving the full $20 million passed in the 2024 budget for student mental health and related needs, or whether they will only be receiving half the funds as Harrell has proposed.

In addition, two new pieces of public safety legislation were proposed this week. 

City Attorney Ann Davison proposed a “Stay out of Drug Area” (SODA) that would authorize the court to prohibit someone charged with violating drug laws from entering a certain geographic zone: one zone would be downtown and the other would be in the CID. This law would impact people affected by the new public drug use law passed last year, and the ban from these zones could be enacted against people who have not yet been convicted of any crime. A violation of a SODA order would be a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to 364 days in jail and/or a fine of up to $5000.

As PubliCola reports, Seattle has tried this approach before: “Seattle tried SODAs and similar strategies to ban people from going into certain parts of the city during the period when Mark Sidran was city attorney, issuing thousands of orders against people who were banned from setting foot in certain parts of the city, even if they were not breaking any other law. The orders contributed to tremendous racial disparities in the jail and criminal legal system during that period, and did not “clean up” or otherwise eradicate longtime “hot spots” for drug activity, including Third Avenue downtown and the area around 12th and Jackson in Little Saigon.”

Councilmember Cathy Moore proposed legislation cracking down on prostitution along Aurora. The legislation consists of 3 parts:

  1. It creates a new prostitution loitering law similar to the one repealed by City Council in 2020. 
  2. It creates a new gross misdemeanor offense of promoting loitering for the purposes of prostitution.
  3. It creates a “Stay out of area Prostitution” (SOAP) that would operate similar to the SODA described above, except for an area around Aurora Ave prohibiting someone charged from a prostitution-related crime from entering the area.

Both 2 and 3 above would both be gross misdemeanors as well, meaning they could result in a jail stay of up to 364 days and/or a $5000 fine. 

Once again, PubliCola is on top of covering this new proposal, writing, “Although officials who spoke in favor of the new law on Thursday said they preferred to focus on sex buyers, and to offer services for the “victims of sex trafficking” on Aurora, the new legislation focuses primarily on sex workers and includes no new services to help women and others who want to get out of sex work. It says that “diversion” should be the “preferred alternative” for sex workers caught violating the proposed new laws, but does not specify what the city considers “diversion” or propose new funding for diversion programs.”

Both legislative proposals will be heard at the next public safety committee meeting on Tuesday, August 13 at 9:30am.

Also this week, Chief Amy Smith was confirmed as the official head of the CARE department.

King County News:

The county’s first walk-in crisis care center opens in Kirkland next week. It will provide mental health treatment to folks regardless as to whether they have health insurance or are able to pay. It has three tiers of services: urgent care, an observation unit for stays of up to 23 hours, and beds for stays of up to 2 weeks. The building of the center was not funded by the crisis center levy passed last year, but the center does plan to apply to be one of the five total sites to be funded by the levy.

Executive Dow Constantine announced the County’s Civic Campus Initiative Report this week. Of note is the report’s recommendation to move the County’s courthouse and jail facilities away from downtown, possibly to a location in SODO. The report proposes using a 15-year timeline.

Recent Headlines:

 

Seattle electeds are feeling especially “tough on crime” this week Read More »

Seattle City Council to decide whether to keep promise to students

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Seattle News:

Interim SPD Chief Sue Rahr announced she decided to fire Officer Daniel Auderer, who infamously laughed and mocked the death of student Jaahnavi Kandula last year. 

At this week’s public safety committee meeting, councilmembers unanimously voted to confirm Amy Smith as permanent Chief of the CARE department. Her confirmation will now move forward for a full vote from Council. 

Also at the meeting, Rahr gave a presentation about her first two months as interim police Chief, focusing on staffing, technology, accountability, and criminal justice partners. She mentioned SPD would need additional funds for their new proposed Real Time Crime Center (RTCC) software. She spoke of the need to differentiate between minor and major misconduct in the service of changing SPD’s culture because of how slow the OPA is to process cases. She also wants to make the officer entrance exam “much more low barrier and faster” and spoke about the department still being 400 officers down. 

I wrote more about Rahr’s decision to fire Dave and her remarks at the public safety committee meeting in an article for The Urbanist, coming out soon, so keep an eye open for that!

Following this presentation was a discussion led by City Attorney Ann Davison, Rahr, and Smith about the criminal justice ecosystem. As Publicola reported, “members of the Seattle City Council outdid each other calling for more police, more jail, and harsher punishments for people, like those who sell drugs, who “need to be contained,” as Councilmember Bob Kettle put it.”

There were also a few fact checks necessary for statements made by Rahr during her brief tenure. Axios reported that Rahr issued a directive this month explaining that a 2021 state law doesn’t prevent police from questioning juvenile witnesses after saying the law was impeding SPD’s investigation of the June 6 shooting at Garfield High School. PubliCola clarified that in spite of a statement by Rahr on Tuesday that “it takes multiple convictions of firearms laws before juveniles are held in detention and held accountable,” juveniles are in fact held in detention for firearms offenses, even without a conviction. Whether they are held in detention is at the discretion of the judges.

Mayor Bruce Harrell announced some new public safety investments in his proposed mid-year supplemental budget, including an additional $800,000 for police recruitment marketing.

Harrell also announced the new SCORE jail pilot program that will allow Seattle to send a limited number of misdemeanor offenders to the Des Moines jail, which has an unusually high inmate death rate. The agreement would authorize Seattle’s use of at least 20 beds at the facility at a cost of between $1.5 million to $3 million. The legislation will need to be approved by the Council before being enacted.

Less than a week before this announcement, Department of Public Defense Director Anita Khandelwal withdrew from the stakeholdering process around this new pilot, saying it didn’t feel like anything she said in those meetings would have any impact on the decision-making process. Khandelwal raised several concerns about the city contracting with SCORE in this way.

A day after the SCORE pilot was announced, the news broke that the King County Jail is lifting some of its booking restrictions for people arrested in a specific geographical zone called the Downtown Activation Zone, which includes parts of downtown, the CID, and Belltown. It will accept bookings for some simple misdemeanors such as public drug use and possession. Thus far it doesn’t appear this change will impact Harrell’s decision to contract with SCORE, which could be used to book people who are arrested for misdemeanors outside of the designated zone. 

Tensions between the city of Seattle and King County continue to grow, with Executive Dow Constantine pushing back against Davison’s claim that the King County Jail booking restrictions are compromising public safety in Seattle, reported by The Seattle Times:

“In a message to Metropolitan King County Council members, sent on behalf of Constantine Wednesday, Penny Lipsou, director of council relations, said Davison’s claims are misguided. The jail makes exceptions to booking restrictions when there is a compelling reason, the message said, and Davison’s office has been ineffective at making those arguments in court.

“Rather than attacking the jail (and in past months, the judges), she should first get her own shop in order,” the message said.

The message goes on to invite Seattle to cancel its contract with the county for jail space.”

The invitation for Seattle to cancel the jail contract is particularly spicy, perhaps reflecting the growing frustration between the two municipalities. The message also mentions that the County is currently subsidizing misdemeanor bookings, meaning Seattle is already not paying their full cost.

Following up on last week’s news, Pierce County will not be charging SPD Deputy Police Chief Eric Barden in a domestic violence criminal case. Barden is still at least temporarily on Pierce County’s Brady list and currently being investigated by the OPA for allegedly asking a Pierce County deputy to lie on a police report.

Gun Violence Initiative:

King County recently kicked off their 100 Days of Action against gun violence, and Councilmember Girmay Zahilay introduced $1 million of funding in the county’s supplemental budget to assist in developing a comprehensive strategic plan for combating gun violence. I wrote about this over at The Urbanist, as well as giving an update on the $20 million allocated in Seattle’s budget process last year for student mental health. (Spoiler: Mayor Bruce Harrell only wants to invest half of it this year.)

Councilmember Tammy Morales pushed back on the plan to only spend half the allocated money on youth mental health, suggesting the council contract directly with schools and community organizations on programs that would help youth in the city thrive, including investing in free third spaces, skill building, jobs and apprenticeships. The council will have to decide whether to pursue this investment strategy when they vote on amendments to the supplemental budget in early August. 

King County News:

King County recently won a $450,000 federal grant to improve youth outcomes and expand alternatives for secure detention in King County. Next month, the King County Council will be considering legislation introduced by Councilmember Reagan Dunn that would declare their intention to keep the youth detention center open. Meanwhile, the youth jail is already understaffed, and the recent move to halt intakes at two of the major long-term state-run youth detention facilities is likely to add more pressure to the population of King County’s youth jail, which isn’t designed for longer-term stays.

Recent Headlines:

 

Seattle City Council to decide whether to keep promise to students Read More »

Former SPD Chief Diaz remains in the news

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We’re playing a little bit of catch up, so in this issue we’ll review the news from the first half of July.

Seattle News:

The City Auditor’s Office released a report last week on how the city should optimally respond to overdoses and crime: namely, by implementing a place-based approach to addressing the fentanyl crisis. It suggests measures like activating sidewalks, SPD investigating fatal overdoses, doing more in line with the Rainier Beach: A Beautiful Safe Place for Youth project, and using evidence-based approaches to drug use like medications, harm reduction, and recovery housing and wrap-around services.

Four female SPD police officers have filed a lawsuit against the city and SPD, alleging a pattern of sexual and racial discrimination, harassment, and a hostile work environment, specifically naming former Chief Adrian Diaz and Lieutenant John O’Neill. They had originally filed a tort claim but are now seeking a jury trial. They say “recent revelations by the former police chief are “inconsequential” to the case.”

According to payroll documents, Diaz is still listed as “chief of police” making a salary of $338,000 per year while he remains on personal leave. His successor, interim Chief Sue Rahr, is making $349,000 a year. 

A profile piece in The Seattle Times reported that Rahr “made two demands of Burgess: First, that she’d be paid like a permanent chief, even though her tenure would likely only last for six months; and second, that neither Burgess nor Harrell nor the City Council would dictate how she ran the place. She must be free to hire and fire.”

A request for help: former SPD Chief Adrian Diaz threatened to sue PubliCola and journalist Erica C. Barnett about an article covering his interview with Jason Rantz in which he came out as gay. As a result, PubliCola has incurred significant legal fees. PubliCola is one of the foremost local news publications in our region, and I encourage you to donate to help them pay their legal fees if you can afford to do so. As Barnett wrote, “If public officials can silence journalists by threatening them with baseless lawsuits, it isn’t just one publication that’s vulnerable—it’s any journalist who makes powerful public figures mad by reporting on them, providing analysis, and holding them accountable.”

The three police accountability partners–the Office of Police Accountability (OPA), the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), and the Community Police Commission (CPC), gave their mid-year reports to City Council last week.

An anonymous letter to the city council, written by a whistleblower from within the OPA, alleges that the OPA and OIG deliberately ignored complaints of harassment and workplace discrimination against former Chief Adrian Diaz. 

The vice president of SPOG, Daniel Auderer, who was taped joking about the death of Jaahnavi Kandula last year, had his Loudermill hearing with interim SPD Chief Sue Rahr last Wednesday. Rahr has 21 days from that date to decide what discipline he will be receiving.

Pierce County prosecutors are deciding whether to charge SPD’s Deputy Chief Eric Barden for domestic violence. They are also looking into the serious allegation that Barden asked a Pierce County deputy to include false information in a police report, relating to a different domestic violence incident. Barden has been provisionally added to the Brady list, and after an internal investigation by SPD, Pierce County will decide whether he will remain on the list. The Seattle Times reports that “the court documents reveal a bitter back-and-forth breakup between Barden and the woman, with allegations of abuse on both sides.” 

Seattle appears to be pushing forward with a deal with the SCORE jail in Des Moines, so expect more news about this later in the summer. 

King County and Washington State News:

I don’t think I can put it any better than King5’s headline: Washington sees overall decrease in 2023 crimes despite worst officer staffing rate in US. 

Washington decided to suspend intakes at two juvenile rehabilitation facilities: Echo Glen’s Children’s Center and Green Hill School. Instead of entering these facilities, children will be held at county facilities until population numbers drop. We can expect to see this decision have impacts at the King County youth jail, as the facility is already at pre-pandemic population and suffering from understaffing. The youth jail was not designed with extended stays in mind and has already come under fire for over-using solitary confinement to deal with its staffing woes. 

On Friday, forty-three men over age 21 were transferred from Green Hill to adult prisons. In May, the King County Department of Public Defense filed a petition that conditions of confinement at Green Hill had reached the point of being “unconstitutionally cruel.” According to Washington State law, the forty-three men should have been held in juvenile detention facilities (such as Green Hill) until age 25. Columbia Legal Services sued the state department back in 2022 for unlawfully transferring three men without due process and are currently looking at their options for enforcing the settlement agreement. 

Last week King County and Seattle announced the beginning of their 100 Days of Action against gun violence. King County has pledged $1.6 million to be spent during the 100 days on community-based violence intervention programs and the Harborview hospital-based intervention program. King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay announced a proposal to allocate $1 million for a longer-term gun violence prevention strategy; this legislation will be voted on by the King County Council on Tuesday. More on this from me soon.

Recent Headlines:

Former SPD Chief Diaz remains in the news Read More »