Seattle mayor seeks to reform police with transfers and cuts
Martha Bellisle | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 4 months AGO
Protesters chant as they march near City Hall, Monday, July 13, 2020, following a news conference held by Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, Police Chief Carmen Best, and Fire Chief Harold Scoggins. Durkan and Best were critical of a plan backed by several city council members that seeks to cut the police department's budget by 50 percent. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, center, speaks Monday, July 13, 2020, during a news conference at City Hall in Seattle as Police Chief Carmen Best, left, and Fire Chief Harold Scoggins , right, look on. Durkan and Best were critical of a plan backed by several city council members that seeks to cut the police department's budget by 50 percent. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Protesters put adhesive notes on the doors of Seattle City Hall, Monday, July 13, 2020, following a news conference held by Mayor Jenny Durkan. Durkan and Police Chief Carmen Best were critical of a plan backed by several city council members that seeks to cut the police department's budget by 50 percent. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Police Chief Carmen Best, center, speaks at at a news conference, Monday, July 13, 2020, at City Hall in Seattle as Mayor Jenny Durkan, left, and Fire Chief Harold Scoggins , right, look on. Durkan and Best were critical of a plan backed by several city council members that seeks to cut the police department's budget by 50 percent. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
A man talks with police lining a street occupied hours earlier by protesters Wednesday, July 1, 2020, in Seattle, where streets had been blocked off in an area demonstrators had occupied for weeks. Seattle police showed up in force earlier in the day at the "occupied" protest zone, tore down demonstrators' tents and used bicycles to herd the protesters after the mayor ordered the area cleared following two fatal shootings in less than two weeks. The "Capitol Hill Occupied Protest" zone was set up near downtown following the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis. (AP Pho…
A protester holds a sign critical of Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and the Seattle Police Department as they block a street in front of Seattle City Hall, Monday, July 13, 2020, following a news conference. Police Chief Carmen Best and Durkan were critical of a plan backed by several city council members that seeks to cut the police department's budget by 50 percent. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Seattle police officer Terry Whalen, a member of the department's hostage negotiating team, wears a patch reading "Stop screaming, I'm scared too" while standing with other officers blocking an intersection Wednesday, July 1, 2020, in Seattle, where streets had been blocked off in an area demonstrators had occupied for weeks. Whalen says that the patch, a gift to him, helps calm interactions with people who may be upset. Seattle police showed up in force earlier in the day at the "occupied" protest zone, tore down demonstrators' tents and used bicycles to herd the protesters after the mayor o…
Seattle Police walk across Cal Anderson Park Wednesday, July 1, 2020, in Seattle as they sweep people away. (Steve Ringman/The Seattle Times via AP)
Emotions were running high Wednesday, July 1, 2020, in Seattle as a few police officers were telling people to get back and out of the Cal Anderson Park to help stop the violence as the sweep continued. (Steve Ringman/The Seattle Times via AP)
Adhesive notes are shown after they were left on the doors of Seattle Police Headquarters, Monday, July 13, 2020, following a news conference held by Mayor Jenny Durkan. Durkan and Police Chief Carmen Best spoke critically of a plan backed by several city council members that seeks to cut the police department's budget by 50 percent. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Protesters block a street in front of Seattle City Hall, Monday, July 13, 2020, following a news conference where Police Chief Carmen Best and Mayor Jenny Durkan spoke critically about a plan backed by several city council members that seeks to cut the police department's budget by 50 percent. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
SEATTLE (AP) � Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan on Monday blasted the City Council's plan to cut the police department's budget by 50% and instead proposed transferring a list of functions like the 911 Call Center and parking enforcement out of the agency's budget.
�We need to invest in community-based solutions that address underlying root issues,� Durkan said at a news conference. �The community as made clear, they want us to transform the Seattle Police Department and to reinvest in programs that provide this kind of community safety.�
Monday's announcement came after weeks of street protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Calls to defund the Seattle police grew louder after protesters where hit with pepper spray and flash bombs during demonstrations.
The Office of Police Accountability received more than 17,000 complaints against officers related to protests. Most focus on 17 incidents that range from excessive force, flashbang injuries and aggressive crowd-handling tactics.
Councilmember Kshama Sawant had said on Twitter that in July and August. the council will vote on the police budget for the rest of 2020 and they plan to cut about 50%, or about $85 million.
On Monday, Sawant said: �In the autumn budget vote, Seattle City Council will vote on the budget for next year. People�s Budget will then bring the legislation to defund all of next year�s police budget by at least half, around $200 million, going by their budget for this year.�
Seven of the council's nine members support that plan, Durkan said, but they've failed to speak with the chief or conduct any thorough research to understand the impacts of that kind of a drastic cut. Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best said eliminating half the department would risk public safety.
�Our budget is almost entirely personnel,� Best said. �I will not sacrifice officers of color for political points.�
Durkan instead wants to reduce the 2021 budget by about $76 million by transferring a number of non-officer functions out of the department. The department's budget for the current year is more than $400 million. Included in the reorganization would be the 911 Call Center, parking enforcement, the Office of Emergency Management and Office of Police Accountability.
An officer is not always the best person to respond to every call, Durkan said. Some emergencies should instead be handled by a social worker, nurse, firefighter or family counselor.
About $20 million will be cut by not expanding the force and reducing overtime, Durkan said.
Moving the 911 Call Center will reduce the police budget by $34.2 million, she said. Transferring the parking enforcement division will save $13.7 million and moving the emergency management department would cut $3.3 million.
Durkan has been sharply criticized for the way she has handled the protests and police response. A campaign to unseat Durkan secured a boost last week when a judge approved a petition for an election to recall the mayor.
Durkan has repeatedly said that she has sought the help of the community while making decisions about police reform, but members of the Community Police Commission said they have not been consulted. The group was formed as part of the consent decree agreement with the federal court.
�A staff member from the Mayor�s Office emailed us at 9:22 am telling us that the Mayor would be announcing their plan,� commission spokesperson Jesse Franz said Monday.
Others have supported shifting funds to help people in crisis.
Councilmember Andrew Lewis has proposed legislation to use some of the policing budget for a new mental health and substance abuse program. Unarmed medical personnel and crisis workers would respond to a mental health crisis instead of an officer.
�By the most conservative estimates one in every four people fatally shot by a police officer has a mental illness,� Lewis said on Twitter. �This has to stop.�
