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40% of SPD sworn employees received complaints in 2020

SEATTLE — It was a year ago that the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked massive protests and intensified demands for police accountability and reform here.

It led to an eye-popping number from the Office of Police Accountability — 40% of sworn SPD employees received a complaint against them in 2020.

Seattle activist Howard Gale expressed at today’s council hearing on the report.

“Nine is the number of years we have pretended to have police accountability. There are far too many heartrending traumatic stories buried in the numbers (OPA Director Andrew) Myerberg will put before you today,” he said.

Among those stories is the pepper-spraying of a young boy. Myerberg determined it was not intentional.

“No matter what I say, there’s going to be people that disagree with the findings, and that is totally acceptable. And you can disagree with me and say that I’m wrong, and that’s fine,” Myerberg said.

Myerberg reported there were 19,000 OPA contacts during the 2020 protests. They led to 145 OPA investigations and 18 sustained findings.

Myerberg said the OPA’s recommendations have led SPD to change its tactics for controlling crowds this year — to be less confrontational.

“I think what SPD will do differently this summer, to the extent we see these protests again, is that they will not be creating lines. Like we saw at the east precinct,” he said.

But the systemic change demanded by Black Lives Matter protesters are coming harder. The City Council, for now, is divided on diverting millions from the police budget to social interventions that create public safety.

“This is an example of a loss of urgency in City Hall to find ways to reallocate funds from the SPD budget towards other public safety investments,” said the council’s Public Safety Committee Chair Lisa Herbold.