Tag Archives: Jenny Durkan

News

Here’s What’s Going On With the Mayoral Recall Election Fight — Without All the Legalese

by Carolyn Bick

In early June, Grace Harvey’s doctor ordered them to leave their house for several days. It wasn’t because their normal living conditions were unhealthy. It was because a significant amount of the tear gas Seattle Police Department (SPD) officers used against protestors on Capitol Hill had leaked into their house, and Harvey has pre-existing medical conditions.

“And it was like, ‘Okay, thank you for that input, but I can’t leave my house indefinitely,’” Harvey said with a laugh.

Still, Harvey did as they were asked and ended up staying elsewhere for two days. But they also decided enough was enough and started a Change.org petition to gauge the public’s interest in a recall election for current Seattle mayor, Jenny Durkan. That petition has since snowballed, and Harvey has become the Chair of the Recall Durkan campaign, whose name is as deceptively simple as its overall goal: to hold a recall election for Durkan. 

Continue reading Here’s What’s Going On With the Mayoral Recall Election Fight — Without All the Legalese →
News

Police Chief Carmen Best Explains Her Decision To Resign; Durkan Says No Search For Replacement This Year

By Paul Faruq Kiefer

(This article originally appeared on The C is for Crank and has been reprinted under an agreement)

In a press conference Tuesday morning that she insisted was not “a wake,” Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best said she is stepping down on September 2 because, in her words, “When it’s time, it’s time.” Continue reading Police Chief Carmen Best Explains Her Decision To Resign; Durkan Says No Search For Replacement This Year →

News

City Council Approves Blueprint for Defunding SPD. But Durkan Isn’t On Board

by Erica C. Barnett

The city council’s budget committee approved a package of cuts Wednesday to the Seattle Police Department (SPD) budget that would reduce the department’s size by about $3 million, representing around 100 positions, this year; remove police from the Navigation Team, which removes unauthorized homeless encampments; and start the city on a path to funding new approaches to public safety that don’t involve armed officers. Most of the proposals aren’t direct budget cuts—which the mayor could simply ignore—but budget provisos, which bar the executive branch from spending money in a way other than how the council prescribes. Continue reading City Council Approves Blueprint for Defunding SPD. But Durkan Isn’t On Board →

News

Seattle Democratic Groups Demand Durkan Resign or Face Removal

by Ben Adlin

More members of Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan’s own party are calling for her to resign over the City’s violent handling of recent protests against racism and police brutality.

On Thursday, Democratic leaders from three of five Seattle-area legislative districts issued a joint statement urging Durkan to step down immediately. If she doesn’t, the groups said, the City Council should use its power to remove her. Continue reading Seattle Democratic Groups Demand Durkan Resign or Face Removal →

News

Seattle Police Chief to Mayor: Take Cops Out of the Process for Diversion Referrals

by Erica C. Barnett

(This article originally appeared on The C is for Crank and has been reprinted under an agreement.) 

For months, the Public Defender Association’s Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program, which has pivoted during the COVID-19 pandemic to a hotel-based model (called Co-LEAD) that connects unsheltered people to resources, has been unable to enroll those living in encampments in Seattle, although they have had success in Burien and with people leaving the King County Jail. The reason for the lengthy delay is that the Seattle Police Department (SPD), which serves a gatekeeper role for most LEAD functions, has not signed off on the list of people LEAD wants to enroll. As a result, dozens of hotel rooms that could shelter new LEAD clients have been sitting empty for months while LEAD has waited for SPD’s approval. Continue reading Seattle Police Chief to Mayor: Take Cops Out of the Process for Diversion Referrals →

News

Does the City Council Want to “Fire Half the Police Department Overnight?” Fact-Checking the Mayor and Police Chief’s Claims

by Erica C. Barnett

After announcing proposals to shift 911 dispatch, the Office of Emergency Management, parking enforcement, and the Office of Police Accountability away from the Seattle Police Department Monday morning, Mayor Jenny Durkan delivered a fiery broadside against the city council, accusing them of proposing an ill-considered plan to slash police spending without giving any consideration to what comes next. Durkan, up for reelection next year, was in full campaign-speech mode, positioning herself as the lone adult among squalling children. Continue reading Does the City Council Want to “Fire Half the Police Department Overnight?” Fact-Checking the Mayor and Police Chief’s Claims →

News

After Sweeping Protest Zone, Durkan Says City Will “Memorialize” Protests, “Reimagine Policing” In Seattle

by Erica C. Barnett

About 10 hours after Seattle police officers moved in to remove barriers, tents, artwork, and people from the Capitol Hill Organized Protest area Wednesday morning, Mayor Jenny Durkan, police chief Carmen Best, and other department heads called a press conference to explain their actions. Continue reading After Sweeping Protest Zone, Durkan Says City Will “Memorialize” Protests, “Reimagine Policing” In Seattle →

News

Under Durkan’s Executive Order, Seattle Police Sweep in to Retake East Precinct and Clear Capitol Hill Protest Zone

by JSeattle

(This article was originally published on the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog and has been reprinted under an agreement)

24 days after clearing the building and evacuating the area following weeks of anti-police protests, the Seattle Police Department swept into the area around the East Precinct early Wednesday and cleared the protest zone that has formed in this core neighborhood of Capitol Hill under an executive order from Mayor Jenny Durkan.

The 30-minute operation created a wide perimeter around the 12th and Pine building with streets cleared of campers and protesters and police reported taking some into custody but meeting little resistance. The Seattle Police Department says it arrested 31 people “for failure to disperse, obstruction, resisting arrest, and assault.”

There were no significant injuries reported. Around 6:30 AM, SPD said that a woman was reported going into labor on the east side of Cal Anderson Park.

Police said officers “enforcing today’s order” were wearing “a higher-level of protective gear.”

“Police are utilizing this equipment because individuals associated w/the CHOP are known to be armed and dangerous/may be associated with shootings, homicides, robberies, assaults & other violent crimes,” the update read.

SPD was also investigating reports of vehicles circling the area with officers reporting individuals “with firearms/armor” inside. The vehicles also did not have visible license plates, SPD reported.

Continue reading Under Durkan’s Executive Order, Seattle Police Sweep in to Retake East Precinct and Clear Capitol Hill Protest Zone →

News

In Press Conference, Durkan, Best Focus on Just Two of Three Shootings That Happened Over the Weekend

by Carolyn Bick

Joined by several community leaders, Mayor Jenny Durkan and Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best addressed two weekend shootings that claimed the life of a 19-year-old Black teen and wounded two others in the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP).

In the June 22 press conference, Durkan and Best committed to working with different Black-led community organizations, including Community Passageways and Not This Time. Durkan said that she will be introducing a 2020 budget rebalancing plan that will make a point to invest in the Black community, in order to enhance public safety. In the name of both equity and public safety, Durkan also committed $5 million for mentoring and summer learning for Black youth.

She also said that police officers responded to almost 17,000 emergency calls within the last nine months, and that her budget process will examine the police budget. She said that police only respond “because the other systems in society have failed,” and that what the city needs is for certain services, like mental health workers or community-based workers, to be available to respond to some emergency calls.

Continue reading In Press Conference, Durkan, Best Focus on Just Two of Three Shootings That Happened Over the Weekend →