Battle over police accountability ramps up in Washington state January 18, 2021 at 8:02 am
Brian Giordano holds a sign during a vigil for his best friend, Manuel Ellis. (Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images)
George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. Manny Ellis. These were the names being chanted in the streets of Seattle, Tacoma, Everett and many other Washington cities in 2020, as the Black community had enough and demanded change and accountability during months of protests that still continue.
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan committed to reforms, but also stressed it was not something the city could achieve on its own with some of the most important change needed at the state level, specifically regarding arbitration.
by Nathalie Graham • Jan 15, 2021 at 2:30 pm
The key to this? Restricting police union contract negotiations on discipline. Lester Black
This year the legislature is going hard on police reform. One bill calls for a ban on chokeholds, no-knock warrants, and tear gas. Other bills would establish a statewide body to review use-of-force cases.
None of those bills would mean anything and officers could still get away with breaking those new rules, Sen. Jesse Salomon argued in a committee meeting yesterday, if we don t change the accountability system.
Currently, police union contracts can negotiate any disciplinary action and can use an arbitration process to contest discipline. All of this creates the environment we see today where cops are very rarely fired for misconduct, let alone held appropriately accountable for their actions. Nationwide, around 52% of cops see their disciplines reduced or overturned.