Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County talks new vision of policing

SEATTLE — At a news conference this week, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said police officers can no longer be the first responders to deal with every call for help, highlighting one focus area for reform after weeks of protests following the death of George Floyd.

“It means deploying the right person with the right skills in the right situation,” Durkan said Monday. “Like mental health specialists, domestic violence counselors or addiction counselors.”

Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County said sending trained, unarmed specialists to crisis calls is one change they’re pushing for, on top of demands to defund police and invest millions of dollars into community programs.

KIRO 7 spoke with Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County board member Jordan Compton and treasurer Livio De La Cruz, who was recently appointed to a state task force task force to address racial inequalities, on their organization’s vision for police reform that BLM wants in writing in a new Seattle police labor contract.

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