The Seattle Office of Inspector General announced last month it suspended the “Sentinel Event Review” process around the May 24th arrests over leaked information from the confidential meetings.
Independent journalist and CHS contributor Hannah Saunders reported on the announcement of the suspension earlier this month. The Divest SPD effort has reported details from the panels including a complaint one lieutenant told officers to “go in heavy” and “put some fucking work in.”
SER panels are typically comprised of a mix of police and community members. Six SPD representatives and six community representatives sat on the May 24th panel
CHS reported here on the May 24th #DontMessWithOurKids gathering in Cal Anderson and the more than 20 people arrested during protests against the anti-trans rally as a large battalion of Seattle Police armed with batons and pepper spray patrolled the edges of the permitted event.
Following the arrests, Harrell called the gathering part of “an extreme right-wing national effort to attack our trans and LGBTQ+ communities” and said there would be a complete review of the parks department’s permitting of the event and SPD’s crackdown on demonstrators.
No charges were ever filed against demonstrators arrested that day.
The OIG says that despite the early suspension of the SER process, a report on the May 24th incident will still be completed and made public.
No complaints filed over SPD conduct during the arrests have so far been sustained.
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