CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
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AN ORDINANCE relating to oversight of the police; revising the process for investigating complaints naming the Chief of Police; adding new Sections 3.29.515 and 3.29.590 to the Seattle Municipal Code; and amending Sections 3.29.510, 3.29.520, 3.29.530, 3.29.560, and 3.29.570 of the Seattle Municipal Code.
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WHEREAS, in 2017, Ordinance 125315 (Accountability Ordinance) established the City's three-pronged police oversight system to ensure the delivery of police services to the people of Seattle in a manner that fully complies with the Constitution and laws of the United States and the State of Washington, effectively ensure public and officer safety, and promote public confidence in the Seattle Police Department (SPD); and
WHEREAS, the Accountability Ordinance strengthened elements of the City's existing system, clarifying and establishing the roles of the Office of Police Accountability (OPA) as an independent, civilian-led investigative office organizationally within SPD, the Office of Inspector General for Public Safety (OIG) as an independent office separate from the Executive, and the Community Police Commission (CPC) as a strong community-based oversight commission; and
WHEREAS, the OPA ensures that the actions of SPD employees are lawful and in compliance with SPD policies by initiating, receiving, classifying, investigating, and making findings related to misconduct complaints involving SPD employees; and
WHEREAS, the OIG provides civilian auditing of the management, practices, and policies of SPD and OPA by reviewing OPA's handling of misconduct complaints and any activities that could involve potential conflicts of interest; actions of possible fraud, waste, abuse, inefficiency, or ineffectiveness; undermine accountability or be unethical, or otherwise compromise the public's trust in the criminal legal system; and
WHEREAS, the CPC engages the community to develop rec...
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