By Ron Espiritu, October 1, 2020
The University Sunrise Rotary Club program on October 1, 2020 was presented by Enrique Gonzalez & Jennifer Tippins of the Seattle Office of Public Accountability. Thanks to Lee Raaen for organizing the program.
In the past five months, there have major protests nationwide and globally due to the death of George Floyd while handcuffed and pinned to the ground by the Minneapolis police. Seattle became a hot spot for the violent confrontation between the protestors and the Seattle Police Department. The Office of Police Accountability of received about 19,000 complaints file against the SPD for misconduct against the protestors. At today, OPA representatives Jennifer Tippins and Enrique Gonzalez, explained the role of OPA to investigate these complaints.
Prior to 2010, there was no formal procedure to investigate police bias and misconduct. A lawsuit was filed against the City of Seattle which compelled the SPD to review and make changes in its training and policies and procedures. In 2017, a City ordinance was passed to make these changes permanent and established the OPA which would have the authority to investigate police misconduct and recommend disciplinary action deemed necessary; it does not get involved in criminal complaints. The OPA is staffed by civilian employees and independent from the SPD.
Anyone, including Seattle police employees, can file a complaint with the OPA. In fact, in 2019, of the more than 900 complaints, 1/3 came from SPD employees. The complaints are investigated internally then classified in these general categories:
- Contact Log: there was no policy violation by the SPD employee or no sufficient evidence to proceed any further.
- Supervisor Action: a minor violation which is addressed with coaching and training.
- Mediation: Complainant and officer agree to sit down with a mediator to resolve the issue.
- Rapid Adjudication: the officer agrees to the misconduct and accepts the consequences of his action.
- Expedited Investigation: the allegation, if true, constitutes a serious policy violation or other category of violation that OPA is required by law and policy to investigate. With the agreement of the Office of the Inspector General, the OPA recommendation is forward to the Chief of Police for disciplinary action
- Investigation: the policy violation is serious but further investigation is needed to gather additional evidence from witnesses, third parties involved and video from body or mounted patrol car cameras. OPA then forwards its recommendation for disciplinary action to the Chief of Police.
Normally, the process is supposed to be completed in 180 days, but the current 19,000 complaints are being expedited to be completed in 60 days. The public can go to the OPA web site to track a complaint. The OPA plans on posting some of its cases on YouTube.
Find the OPA Annual Report 2019.
The Office of Police Accountability has authority over allegations of misconduct involving Seattle Police Department employees relating to SPD policy and federal, state, and local law. The Office of Police Accountability investigates complaints and recommends findings to the Chief of Police. The Office is led by a civilian director and supervisors, while its investigations are carried out by a mix of Seattle Police Department sergeants and civilian investigators.
Enrique Gonzalez is a community engagement specialist for the Office of Police Accountability. Prior to working for the Office, Enrique was one of the co-chairs of the Community Police Commission. He has worked on police accountability reform for over ten years and maintains long-standing connections in communities of color in South Seattle and King County. His work at this time focuses on building relationships with community and the Office of Police Accountability and providing information to people dealing with the impacts of policing in Seattle.
Jennifer Tippins is a Community Engagement Coordinator for the Office of Police Accountability. Before joining the Office in 2018, she worked at BERK Consulting in Seattle for nearly five years, where she led and supported outreach and engagement strategies for a variety of public policy projects with communities across WA State. She received a Masters Degree in Urban Planning from the University of Washington and is a former Fulbright Scholar in Hong Kong.
Join the University Sunrise Rotary Club for our weekly program. We meet via Zoom every Thursday morning at 7:30 a.m. Pacific. The line opens at 7:15 a.m. Registration is not required. Login by clicking here.