Seattle Council committee talks police ‘values’ resolution, $45K in signs prohibiting immigration enforcement ‘staging’

The Seattle City Council’s public safety committee has a busy agenda Tuesday including items to buttress the recent order from Mayor Katie Wilson and Chief Shon Barnes directing the city’s police officers to “investigate, verify, and document” reported ICE activity. Leaders of the city’s police union have led outcry over the order and suggested that officers would defy the directives.

• Seattle Police ‘values’ resolution: One item up for advancement Tuesday to the full council is a proposed resolution “relating to law enforcement officer professionalism and standards.” The proposal sponsored by committee chair Robert Kettle is focused on “reaffirming Seattle values related to professional law enforcement conduct; condemning recent actions of federal law enforcement agents; articulating expectations for law enforcement conduct within Seattle; and directing Seattle Police Department officers to document and report violations of law enforcement professionalism standards,” according to the council report on the agenda item. In another report, the resolution is described as a reaffirmation of the city’s law enforcement values — and a response to the federal immigration crackdown:

  This resolution articulates the desire of the City to have any non-City law enforcement activities occurring within Seattle adhere to legal and professional standards in line with City values and policies that govern the Seattle Police Department (SPD). Specific law enforcement standards mentioned include: use of face coverings, visible identification, rendering medical aid, and procedures and standards for stops and detentions. The resolution further affirms existing SPD policies and directives on how SPD officers should handle situations related to immigration enforcement, purported federal agents, and foreign nationals. The resolution also denounces recent federal immigration enforcement activities in Minneapolis, Minnesota and resultant loss of life.
  The analysis concludes the resolution would open up no new ground in policy, saying it calls only “for SPD to follow existing departmental policies and directives.”

  • The public safety committee will also take up debate on a proposed ordinance to back up a component of Mayor Wilson’s executive order barring immigration enforcement from city property including “parks, parking lots, plazas, vacant lots, storage facilities, garages, and the Seattle Center.” The proposed bill, also from chair Kettle, would prohibit “staging and operations of civil immigration enforcement activities on City property to the extent permissible by law.” Most directly, the legislation would allow the Seattle City Attorney’s Office to seek “legal or equitable relief to enjoin any acts or practices that violate this ordinance.” It would also open the way for possible signage about the restriction on city property. The teeth of the ordinance appears to be the signs. According to the council analysis, $45,000 has already been earmarked for plastic signs to join dozens of signs already being crafted by the SDOT Sign Shop:
    A key point in the city’s fine tuning of its restriction comes in an amendment from Kettle to make a “technical” adjustment to his bill. The amendment would change the wording of the restrictions to prohibit “staging activities only” — any attempts to restrict active operations and arrests would likely quickly run afoul of the courts. According to the council analysis, the legislation is expected to make its way to the full council for a final vote on March 10th.
  • CARE briefing: Tuesday’s session will also have a non-ICE focused item as the committee is scheduled to be briefed by officials from the CARE Department on the status of “Alternative Response” in the city. The session comes as Seattle’s new department of crisis responders has grown but continues to face hobbling limitations from SPD.

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