Tag Archives: Police Accountability

News

Unreleased Investigation Sheds Light on Police Use of Tear Gas on Protesters in 2020

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Report reveals officers who made decisions to permit police tear gas use were treated only as witnesses by OPA.

by 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.

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News

Seattle-Based Seabold Group Investigated Fmr. SPD Chief Best — Unclear Where Investigation Stands

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Despite contract going into effect in August 2022 and expiring in December, SPD did not file with the City Clerk’s Office until April 2023.

by 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. 

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News

A Year After Taking Over, Tacoma Police Chief Talks Violent Crime, Morale and Officers Awaiting Trial

by Kari Plog

(This article was originally published on KNKX Public Radio and has been reprinted under an agreement.)

It’s been more than a year since Chief Avery Moore moved from Dallas and took over the Tacoma Police Department. Since then, he has hired more officers and launched a phased plan to address violent crime.

But concerns from the public remain, among them the stalled internal investigation into three Tacoma officers charged with killing Manuel Ellis.

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Arts & Culture

New Play ‘11th & Pine’ Tells Behind-the-Scenes Story of Seattle’s CHOP

“This is a people’s history,” says playwright Nikki Yeboah. “I want us as a city to lift this story.”

by Amanda Ong

From March 17 to March 19, Erickson Theatre will host a staged reading of 11th & Pine, a new play about the organizer experience of the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP), presented by Sound Theatre Company. Initially known as the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) before being renamed to CHOP, the organized protest against police brutality held in Cal Anderson Park in 2020 was one of the longest and most robust protests Seattle has seen to date. Written by Nikki Yeboah, a professor of playwriting at the University of Washington, and directed by Leah Adcock-Starr, 11th & Pine was written in conjunction with oral histories from CHOP’s organizers.

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News

‘Like an Ambush’: Human Rights Commissioners Detail Pressure From Council, CPC, Not to Pursue Amicus Status

Two more commissioners resign

by Carolyn Bick

The Emerald’s Watchdragon reporting seeks to increase accountability within our city’s institutions through in-depth investigative journalism.

Seattle Human Rights Commissioners past and present say that since the commission announced its intention to seek amicus status with the federal court in the matter of the Consent Decree, they have faced repeated warnings of ethical and legal violations. 

These warnings have come from the Seattle City Attorney’s Office — the topic of this story — along with members of the Seattle City Council and the Community Police Commission, which is the focus of today’s story.

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News

City Attorney Warns Human Rights Commissioners of Legal Action if SHRC Pursues Amicus Status — Fails to Cite Specifics

by Carolyn Bick

The Emerald’s Watchdragon reporting seeks to increase accountability within our city’s institutions through in-depth investigative journalism.

Seattle Human Rights Commissioners past and present say that since the commission announced its intention to seek amicus status with the federal court in the matter of the Consent Decree, they have faced repeated warnings from the Seattle City Attorney’s Office.

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News

Fmr. Mayor May Have Pushed OPA to Delay Investigations Into Fmr. Police Chief

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City hired outside firm to investigate; OPA currently reviewing documents.

by Carolyn Bick

The Emerald’s Watchdragon reporting seeks to increase accountability within our city’s institutions through in-depth investigative journalism.

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News

NEWS GLEAMS | Impacts of Police Killing of Tyre Nichols Continue; State Bills to Increase Police Accountability; Free Tax Help at Library

A roundup of news and announcements we don’t want to get lost in the fast-churning news cycle!

curated by Vee Hua 華婷婷

Continue reading NEWS GLEAMS | Impacts of Police Killing of Tyre Nichols Continue; State Bills to Increase Police Accountability; Free Tax Help at Library →
News

City Silent About Ongoing, Potentially Flawed Investigation Into Former OPA Director

Charging Thousands of Dollars Per Month, Outside Firm Waited Almost a Year to Interview Former OPA Director

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.

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News

OPA May Have Broken City and State Records Laws By Not Retaining Emails

by 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.

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