Community commission proposes changes to Seattle police contract negotiation process

SEATTLE — The Seattle Community Police Commission made eight recommendations to Seattle’s mayor and city council regarding ways to make police contract negotiations more transparent to the public.

The advice was issued after the CPC was for the first time allowed to have a technical adviser participate in the negotiating process for the Seattle Police Management Association’s (SPMA) collective bargaining agreement, which the city council voted to approve on Tuesday.

The recommendations, which took community feedback into consideration, are for negotiations involving the SPMA and the Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG). SPMA represents the Seattle Police Department’s captains and lieutenants, and SPOG represents sergeants and officers.

“Community voice must be central to this process to make sure demands for police accountability are not negotiated away. We will be closely watching the Seattle Police Officer Guild Collective Bargaining Agreement as that process moves forward and using every tool at our disposal to ensure community voices are represented,” said CPC Executive Director Brandy Grant.

The recommendations include making the city’s bargaining priorities public, fully implementing the reforms in 2017′s Ordinance 125315 — Seattle’s civilian and community oversight police accountability law — which includes closing loopholes officers may use to avoid discipline, creating strong policies in such areas as secondary jobs, and empowering civilian investigations into possible police misconduct.

The CPC also recommends having the city publicly release regular updates on the content of police contracts and the status of their negotiations, and allowing the Office of Police Accountability to have as many civilian investigators as desired, instead of only being allowed two.

See the full list of recommendations at this link.

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