Seattle Police, Supervisor Compliance, Washington 2022

SEATTLE – A formal assessment of the Seattle Police Department’s (SPD) implementation of supervision-related provisions of the consent decree has found SPD to be in initial compliance with requirements of the Court-ordered agreement, announced U. S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. Federal Monitor Merrick Bobb on December 31st filed the assessment with the U.S. District Court and concluded that the progress to date and ‘current quality and extent of supervision’ within SPD in four main areas supports a finding of initial compliance.

‘Effective internal supervision is critical to the successful implementation of reform and to the successful management of the day-to-day operations of SPD,’ said U. S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. ‘The results of this assessment demonstrate that the Department is making progress in supervising, investigating, and counselling officers to help them do their jobs effectively and increase accountability.’

This was the tenth assessment conducted to date by the Monitor and DOJ. Previous assessments found SPD to be in initial compliance with requirements relating to crisis intervention, the Office of Professional Accountability, use of force reporting and investigation, and the Force Review Board. The Monitor also examined and found many positive developments and trends in public confidence and community trust regarding SPD.

The supervisor assessment filed today and attached below focused on four areas: The adequacy of supervision by the chain of command for a period from June 2014 through September 2016; Whether SPD personnel are assigned to a single, consistent, clearly identified first-line supervisor, also known as ‘unity of command’; The quality of sergeant training and ensuring that any personnel assigned as long-term ‘acting sergeants’ receive specific training within 60 days of their appointment; and Whether SPD is deploying an adequate number of qualified supervisors to assure that the provisions of the Consent Decree are implemented, also known as ‘adequate span of control.’

The assessment found that in all four areas, SPD was in initial compliance. For example, the assessment found that the chain of command receives timely notice of and reviews and tracks uses of force. It also shows supervisors are taking appropriate action with their officers when the use of force is found to be problematic, including counseling officers, initiating referrals up the chain of command, noting performance issues in appropriate systems, and referring incidents that may implicate policy violations to the Office of Professional Accountability.

Defendant: Seattle Police Department, Supervisor Requirements of Consent Decree, Washington 2022. Exact criminal charges: None. City and state: Seattle, Washington. Exact date: December 31, 2021. Sentence or outcome: Initial compliance with supervision requirements of consent decree. Dollar amounts: None.

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