by Luna Reyna
Tuesday evening, the Seattle City Council Public Safety and Human Services Committee held the only public hearing where community members could give input on the upcoming Seattle Police Management Association (SPMA) contract before closed-door negotiations.
Continue reading Public Hearing on Seattle Police Union Contract Considered a ‘Sham’ by Some, Progress by Othersby Carolyn Bick
The Emerald’s Watchdragon reporting seeks to increase accountability within our city’s institutions through in-depth investigative journalism.
The Emerald has obtained documents that reveal new information regarding one of the two open 2020 protests-related investigations into former Seattle Police Department (SPD) Chief Carmen Best. The documents the Emerald obtained are draft reports that specifically regard the investigation into the use of tear gas on protesters on June 7, 2020, into the early hours of June 8, 2020. The incident ties into the abandonment of the East Precinct on June 8, 2020.
While these documents are technically drafts of a forthcoming report by the Seabold Group — the outside agency the Office of Police Accountability (OPA) contracted to investigate the two cases involving Best — they appear to highlight several key points, based on the investigative interview snippets contained within. Based on the file names of the documents the Emerald received, Seabold submitted its first draft report on Oct. 26, 2022, and an amended draft report on Jan. 4, 2023. The Emerald will be focusing on the most recent version of the draft report, dated Jan. 4, 2023. Neither draft report contains conclusions.
Continue reading Unreleased Investigation Sheds Light on Police Use of Tear Gas on Protesters in 2020by Carolyn Bick
The Emerald’s Watchdragon reporting seeks to increase accountability within our city’s institutions through in-depth investigative journalism.
The Emerald has learned that the Office of Police Accountability (OPA) retained Seattle-based firm the Seabold Group to investigate former Seattle Police Department (SPD) Chief Carmen Best over her actions and decisions during the 2020 protests, including the abandonment of the East Precinct, alleged improper deployment of tear gas, and allegations of dishonesty in the media.
Continue reading Seattle-Based Seabold Group Investigated Fmr. SPD Chief Best — Unclear Where Investigation Standsby Carolyn Bick
The Emerald’s Watchdragon reporting seeks to increase accountability within our city’s institutions through in-depth investigative journalism.
by Carolyn Bick
The Emerald’s Watchdragon reporting seeks to increase accountability within our city’s institutions through in-depth investigative journalism.
Since the beginning of this year, the Emerald has been following and reporting on developments in the ongoing investigation into allegations of medical privacy violations against former Office of Police Accountability Dir. Andrew Myerberg and still-unnamed — and, possibly, still unknown — Seattle Police Department (SPD) officers.
Continue reading City Silent About Ongoing, Potentially Flawed Investigation Into Former OPA Directorby Carolyn Bick
The Emerald’s Watchdragon reporting seeks to increase accountability within our city’s institutions through in-depth investigative journalism.
The Emerald has discovered that officials within the Office of Police Accountability (OPA) may have broken — indeed may be continuing to break — public records laws by either manually deleting or allowing certain emails to expire before the two-year mark prescribed by City and State records laws. At least one of these emails concerned an item of public interest. State law makes the intentional destruction of these records a felony offense, if any law enforcement agency should choose to investigate.
Continue reading OPA May Have Broken City and State Records Laws By Not Retaining Emailsby Carolyn Bick
The Emerald’s Watchdragon reporting seeks to increase accountability within our city’s institutions through in-depth investigative journalism.
The Emerald has obtained a copy of a 2019 termination letter that the Office of Inspector General (OIG)’s Inspector General Lisa Judge sent to former OIG staffer Sarah Lippek. The letter shows that the OIG fired Lippek for alleged misconduct, including, among other things, allegedly fully certifying a single Office of Police Accountability (OPA) case without accessing information beyond the initial intake.
Continue reading OIG Fired Auditor for Alleged Misconduct, but Court DisagreedThe Emerald’s Watchdragon reporting seeks to increase accountability within our city’s institutions through in-depth investigative journalism.
A year ago today, the Emerald published its first story on a whistleblower complaint filed against the Office of Inspector General (OIG). That complaint contained serious allegations — including warnings from OIG leadership to staff to avoid criticizing the OPA in writing — not only against Inspector General Lisa Judge but also against now-former Deputy Inspector General Amy Tsai and now-former Office of Police Accountability (OPA) Dir. Andrew Myerberg.
Continue reading It Has Been One Year Since Whistleblower Complaint Against OIG: A Retrospectivecompiled by the Emerald Team
On June 8, 2022, the four final candidates for the role of OPA director spoke at a public forum produced by the City of Seattle, hosted by Seattle Channel’s Brian Callanan, and broadcast on the Seattle Channel. Each of the candidates answered a selection of questions submitted by Emerald readers, the Emerald itself, and other members of the public.
Continue reading OPA Director Pick Gino Betts’ Answers to Public Questionsby the Real Change and South Seattle Emerald Editorial Teams
Real Change and the South Seattle Emerald know that many of our readers support Mayor Bruce Harrell, have high expectations for him in general — particularly regarding public safety — and want to see him succeed. They hope he will make real progress on public accountability and reducing the harm caused by the Seattle Police Department to poor, unhoused, and BIPOC communities. We also understand our responsibility to our readers and the democratic process to hold the mayor, all police forces, police oversight entities, and officials in the region accountable through fair, accurate, and unrelenting reporting.
Continue reading Real Change and South Seattle Emerald Call for Police Accountability and Transparency
