May 21, 2021 at 9:27 am
Seattle police were out in force during a rally called United Against Hate hosted by right wing group, the Washington State Three Percent (3%), at City Hall Plaza on Jan. 5, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Karen Ducey/Getty Images)
Over the last few months, we’ve seen dramatic testimony from Seattle police officers voluntarily leaving over a movement to defund the department, lobbing criticism at a city they say doesn’t fully appreciate them. But it doesn’t take much effort to see that SPD’s so-called “staffing crisis” is self-inflicted.
Let’s first look back on the last couple years of officers leaving SPD. The idea that the “defund” movement is only now driving out good, well-meaning cops is something of a misnomer, given that complaints from officers about not being appreciated by the city’s leaders and residents date back years.
Former state AG: Ability to fire officers for off-duty actions depends on belief and behavior May 14, 2021 at 6:16 am
Seattle police were out in force during a rally called United Against Hate hosted by right wing group, the Washington State Three Percent (3%), at City Hall Plaza on Jan. 5, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Karen Ducey/Getty Images)
A number of police departments around the country are considering vetting their police officers, potentially looking at some of their social media posts to decide whether or not to fire them or if it would disqualify them from doing their job. Is that legal?