Tag Archives: SPD

News

Det. Denise ‘Cookie’ Bouldin, Revered SPD Community Liaison, Sues Department and City

by Tobias Coughlin-Bogue

In 2006, Seattle Police Department (SPD) detective Denise “Cookie” Bouldin started the Detective Cookie Chess Club, a program aimed to provide Rainier Beach youth with something positive to do in their spare time, exposing them to a game that, as the Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA once said, “is good for everyday thinking, especially for brothers in the urban community who never take that second look, never take that second thought.”

In 2022, the City of Seattle honored Bouldin’s decades of effort with the opening of the Detective Cookie Chess Park, a corner park on Rainier Avenue South, 51st Street South, and South Barton Place, anchored by a giant chessboard, itself flanked by a semicircle of chess tables.

On March 10, 2023, Bouldin filed a $10 million claim against the city, alleging ongoing harassment and discrimination along racial and gender lines throughout her more than 40 years at SPD.

On Nov. 3, Bouldin sued the city, after it “failed to respond meaningfully” to her original claim, which it had 60 days to do.

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Features

Derailing the Defund: How SPD Manipulated the Media Narrative Around the 2020 Protests

by Glen Stellmacher

(This article was originally published on Real Change and has been reprinted under an agreement.)

While thousands of Seattleites took to the streets to protest George Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police, calling for the Seattle Police Department (SPD) to be defunded by 50%, exclusive SPD documents obtained via public records requests reveal internal deliberations and backroom dealings designed to craft a counternarrative to those demands.

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Voices

OPINION | Police, Privilege, and Pride

by Carmen Rivera

In 2022, the Seattle Police Department and Seattle Pride engaged in discussions about SPD’s involvement in the annual Pride parade held on Stonewall Sunday. As mandated by the City of Seattle, the police were expected to provide traffic assistance and crowd control. However, following a community survey in May 2021, which garnered over 1,300 responses requesting that police not be allowed to march, the Seattle Pride board passed a policy prohibiting “police uniforms, police vehicles, any police insignia, or police propaganda to walk in any parade [contingent].”

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News

NEWS GLEAMS | Misdemeanor Drug Crimes Will Continue to Be Prosecuted by King County, Not the City of Seattle

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

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News

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

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

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

Seattle Has Ignored Concerns Over SPD Use of Surveillance Technologies, Community Members Say

by Guy Oron

(This article was originally published on Real Change and has been reprinted under an agreement.)

The Seattle City Council reviewed and unanimously approved six surveillance technologies used by the Seattle Police Department (SPD) at a Feb. 28 meeting as part of a process mandated by Seattle’s 2017 Surveillance Ordinance. Community members said the Council failed to incorporate concerns and recommendations outlined by advocates, including the City’s own Surveillance Advisory Working Group. 

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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

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

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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