WOW !! Police Accountability

Locke, Rice to study police accountability
By Sharon Pian Chan and Steve Miletich

Seattle Times staff reporter


BETTY UDESEN / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske waits to speak at Friday afternoon's press conference at City Hall.
Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels confirmed this afternoon that he has called together an 11-member panel to examine police accountability, a group that will include former Gov. Gary Locke and former U.S. Attorney Mike McKay.

"The time is right for a thorough and comprehensive review," Nickels said at a City Hall news conference. "It's time to take another look into how the police department polices itself."

The commission includes many prominent members in the political and legal communities: former Seattle Mayor Norm Rice; Seattle attorney Jenny Durkan; former judge and Seattle police auditor Terrence Carroll; and Bob Boruchowitz, former longtime director of the largest and oldest of King County's public-defense agencies.

Also on the commission: Hubert Locke, former dean of the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington; Judith Krebs, general counsel for SEIU Healthcare 775; Lorena González, president of the Latino Bar Association of Washington; Jennifer Shaw, legislative director of ACLU of Washington; and Pramila Jayapal, executive director of the nonprofit Hate Free Zone.

The move follows the leak last week of a civilian-oversight report that accused Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske of interfering in an internal investigation. The report, which examined a case in which an officers' report did not match up with a surveillance video, said the chief pushed an internal investigation to support the officers' version of a January drug arrest.

Nickels said the group will also review Kerlikowske's role in police accountability.

Kerlikowske, who was at the news conference, said he supported the review.

"One of the things that's most important to me is certainly the trust of the police department," the chief said. "We're not going to be trusted if there is this continuing swirl over the accountability system."

Thursday, City Council President Nick Licata said he planned to put together an advisory group to review police accountability, and invited the mayor to help develop it. He has invited members of the community to join the group but has not yet announced its members.

The mayor did not respond to that invitation, and today said, "Licata has shown he has a particular agenda on this issue."

Hubert Locke, McKay and Durkan sat on a 1999 commission appointed by then-Mayor Paul Schell. That group made recommendations that led to the establishment of the civilian-run Office of Professional Accountability in the Police Department, which replaced the former internal-investigations unit.

The group will begin work in August, and conduct interviews from September to November. The mayor said the group will produce a report and make recommendations to him in November.


City Councilwoman Jean Godden, who attended the news conference, said she supported having both council and mayoral groups review police accountability.

"Until there is sufficient restoration in public confidence, I don't think there can ever be enough review," she said.

Councilman Richard McIver said he believes the council needs its own advisory group.

"It's incumbent on us to move forward to and ask for advice on what changes should the Office of Professional Accountability undertake," he said.

McIver says the office, which is reports to the chief, should be moved out of the police department.

Sharon Pian Chan: 206-464-2958 or schan@seattletimes.com

Steve Miletich: 206-464-3302 or smiletich@seattletimes.com

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