Seattle police have reformed, judge told

Shooting of Island First Nations man helped spark probe

SEATTLE — Seattle’s police department no longer regularly violates the constitutional rights of the city’s residents and should be found in initial compliance with its 2012 agreement to change its ways, the U.S. Justice Department said Friday.

If U.S. District Judge James Robart agrees — which isn’t certain, given opposition from a court-appointed monitor — it would mark a significant milestone in recognizing the city’s efforts to overhaul nearly all aspects of its police department, including how officers are trained, how and when they use force, and how such episodes are documented and reviewed.

“We have not come to this conclusion lightly,” Seattle U.S. Attorney Annette Hayes said in a statement. “Career civil-rights attorneys and police-practices experts have spent more than five years investigating [the Seattle Police Department], overseeing the creation of new policies and training, and independently reviewing the relevant data. … We know that real reforms can’t just happen on paper. They must be carried out in practice.”

The Justice Department began investigating Seattle police following a series of questionable uses of force, including the unjustified shooting of woodcarver John Williams of Vancouver Island’s Ditidaht First Nation after he crossed the street in front of a cruiser in 2010. In 2011, U.S. Justice Department attorneys said they had found that officers were too quick to resort to force, especially in low-level situations.

Police brass and city officials initially disputed the Justice Department assertions. But after difficult negotiations, they entered into a consent decree in 2012, aimed at reducing unnecessary uses of force, curbing biased policing and improving residents’ trust.

A series of assessments have documented the changes the reforms have brought on the streets, including what the courtappointed monitor overseeing the reforms, Merrick Bobb, described as a stunning drop in how often officers use serious force — with no increase in crime or officer injuries.

While Seattle and the Justice Department have asked Robart to find the city in initial compliance with the consent decree, the monitor is opposing that. Questions about the department’s progress remain — particularly with the fatal shooting in June of a black, pregnant mother named Charleena Lyles.

If Robart does find the city in compliance, it would trigger a two-year period of continued oversight by the court.