CITY OF SEATTLE
RESOLUTION __________________
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A RESOLUTION supporting The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020 (H.R. 7120).
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WHEREAS, The City of Seattle has been working on reforms to its police department and policing practices, including its use of force policies, since the federal consent decree (a.k.a. Settlement Agreement) was instituted in 2012; and
WHEREAS, the consent decree was followed by several police reform and accountability policies and organizations including the Community Police Commission, the Office of Police Accountability, the Office of Inspector General, the 2017 police reform ordinance (Ordinance 125315), and the 2018 Sustainment Plan; and
WHEREAS, the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis following the long history of disproportionate police misconduct and violence against countless other Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) in Seattle and throughout our nation and the subsequent community-led protests are causing several local governments to boldly address the histories of institutional racism within their law enforcement systems; and
WHEREAS, The City of Seattle and other cities have recognized that attempts to reform their police departments are insufficient by themselves to end disproportionately negative impacts on BIPOC communities; and
WHEREAS, The City of Seattle is in the process of re-examining its budget through an anti-racist lens to determine how to better allocate resources to reimagine public safety and achieve healthy communities; and
WHEREAS, after public officials reallocate substantial funding away from traditional policing to other City government departments or to effective community-based organizations, there will still be a need to sustain and expand reforms of the remaining law enforcement systems; and
WHEREAS, reforms needed across the nation include not only reforms implemented in Seattle, such as the use of body cameras, but also reforms that require changes in federal law, ...
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