SEATTLE – Seattle City Council on Monday approved proposals that the police department be reduced by as many as 100 officers due to dismissals and atrocities – an action supported by protesters who marched in the city following the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, but strongly against the mayor and police officer.
Measures that cut less than $ 4 million from the department’s $ 400 million annual budget this year would be unanimous from committee last week. On Monday, only councilor Kshama Sawant voted against the budget package, saying it does not do enough to defuse the police.
Seattle currently has about 1,400 police officers and the reductions fell far short of the 50% cut to the department that many Black Lives Matter protesters seek. Several councilors on Monday said the changes were a starting point in a lengthy process to reimagine policing and public safety.
The city council also slashed police chief Carmen Best’s roughly $ 285,000 annual salary and the salaries of other top police leaders, though the final cuts to Best’s salary were significantly more modest than those approved last week. The council plan also takes officers off a team that removes homeless camps.
“While we may not be able to do everything in this summer’s rebalancing package, we have paved the way for great work for us as a council and as a city,” said councilor Teresa Mosqueda.
Councilman Dan Strauss said the council will continue to work to provide public safety that works for everyone in Seattle, and “provide the right answer to 911 calls immediately,” which he said in the future could not always include an armed officer.
Mayor Jenny Durkan and Best had urged the council to carry out their talks on police budgets, saying the issue could be taken seriously when considering the 2021 city budget. They also said that dismissals would disproportionately target new officers, often hired from Black and Brown communities, and that would inadvertently lead to lawsuits.
Durkan has proposed cutting about $ 20 million from the police budget this year in large part due to reduced revenues amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Last month, the mayor outlined a plan to reduce the police budget by about $ 75 million next year by relocating parking lots, the 911 call center and other areas of the department.
“It is regrettable that the Council has refused to participate in a collaborative process to work with the Mayor, Chief Best, and members of the community to develop a budget and policy that responds to the needs of the community,” while holding accountable for – not just acknowledging – the important labor and legal implications involved in transforming the Seattle Police Department, ”Durkan said in a statement after the vote.
As a U.S. attorney in Seattle, Durkan previously conducted a Justice Department investigation that found officials too quick to use force, leading to a 2012 decree agreeing with the federal government. Reviews by an independent monitor have determined that the changes under the consent decision have led to a drop in how often police use violence. But critics have said the department’s actions in recent protests show that not enough progress has been made.
“Your elected officials are striving to capture this historic moment in the wake of the brutal and heinous murder of George Floyd and countless other Blacks, Indians and people of color, so that we can systematically tackle racism, rethink policing and improve health and safety. create new life for the community, “councilor Alex Pedersen said before the vote. ‘It’s not an easy process. It’s messy, it’s cumbersome, it’s uncomfortable – but it’s necessary. ”
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