Clergy, faith leaders voice support for SPD chief while demanding immediate reforms

SEATTLE — A large gathering of black clergy and faith leaders assembled Sunday at Goodwill Missionary Baptist Church to meet with Seattle Chief of Police Carmen Best to call for immediate reforms within the SPD.

Best began her Sunday on CBS’s Face the Nation, where she described having an epiphany while marching with 60,000 people Saturday who called for dramatic changes now.

“And there were thousands of people carrying those particular signs. And I just realized it was a moment, an epiphany that this is a pivotal moment in history,” Best said. “We are going to move in a different direction, and policing will never be the same as it was before.”

She said her department had already taken major steps to stop racial bias and excessive use of force following the issuance of a federally-imposed consent decree in 2012.

>>Seattle city attorney announces withdrawal of motion to end federal oversight of SPD

“I absolutely believe in accountability. But ... we’ve moved away from using the word, ‘reform.’ We were under a consent decree (in) the Seattle Police Department for almost a decade. We followed every rule and everything that was asked of us to do,” Best said.

RAW: Black faith leaders voice support for SPD chief, demand reform in department RAW: Black faith leaders voice support for SPD chief, demand reform in department

During the meeting, Best also heard words of encouragement from spiritual leaders. She repeated that she is working to make change and is poised to respond to everyone who is demanding that policing be reimagined.

© 2020 Cox Media Group