Preliminary ruling: Seattle may have violated bargaining laws with police body camera order

Seattle mayor Ed Murray ordered all Seattle police officers to wear body cameras last month, but Seattle’s union argued that didn’t follow state bargaining laws.

The State of Washington Public Employment Relations Commission has now issued a preliminary ruling in favor of the Seattle Police Officer’s Guild’s complaint that the city violated state bargaining laws by implementing the body worn video program, a guild representative said Wednesday.

Follow this link to read the preliminary ruling from the Public Employment Relations Commission. The preliminary ruling is not a definitive finding of wrongdoing. It is a preliminary step.

The Seattle Police Officers Guild “has repeatedly stated that we are not opposed to the body worn video program, but the city must follow the state bargaining laws,” SPOG president Kevin Stuckey said in a statement. “Today’s preliminary ruling is a message to all workers and unions that neither the Mayor nor the City Attorney can pick and choose which laws they want to follow.”

City Attorney Pete Holmes gave legal counsel, Stuckey said.

"We can no longer deprive Seattle of this important tool to provide a detailed record of what happens during critical incidents; a public record that will hold police officers accountable to their own high standards and our community's important expectations," Murray said after signing his executive order for the cameras. Read more about the rollout here.

The roll out started July 22 with bike officers, and all West Precinct officers were told to wear the cameras by September 30.

It was not immediately clear from Seattle police if the bike officers will continue wearing the cameras, or how that video could be used in cases going forward.

Murray’s executive order came as a reaction to the shooting death of Charleena Lyles. The 30-year-old called police to her Sand Point apartment on June 18 and was fatally shot in a confrontation with two officers. Officers said Lyles was armed with two kitchen knives and in audio of the incident she is heard saying, “Get ready, motherf---ers.” There is no video of the confrontation.

NOTE: This article and headline have been update to clarify the preliminary ruling is not a definitive finding of wrongdoing.

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