Ongoing issues with disparate policing and charging in Western Washington:
- The Seattle Police Department has been under a federal court consent decree since 2012 following a Department of Justice investigation that found “a pattern or practice of constitutional violations regarding the use of force that result from structural problems as well as serious concerns about biased policing.” This finding and the consent decree reflect the long-term, entrenched problem of racially disparate policing and use of force. Please read more about this at this link
- The Seattle Police Department has been under a federal court consent decree since 2012 following a Department of Justice investigation that found “a pattern or practice of constitutional violations regarding the use of force that result from structural problems as well as serious concerns about biased policing.” This finding and the consent decree reflect the long-term, entrenched problem of racially disparate policing and use of force. Please read more about this at this link.
- Despite ongoing supervision under the consent decree, recent studies confirm that the Seattle Police Department continues to stop and use force against Black and Native American people at far higher rates than white people. Please read more about this at these links: Seattle Times & Mapping Police Violence
- In March 2020, Manuel Ellis was killed by three Tacoma Police officers. The State Attorney General has charged the two of the officers with Second Degree Murder and the third with First Degree Manslaughter. Trial is pending. The City of Tacoma recently settled a lawsuit with Mr. Ellis’ family for $4M
Using data from the United States Sentencing Commission, our office has found that Black people are charged with unlawful possession of a firearm in this District at far higher rates than white people relative to their share of the population.
The only diversion court in this District, the Drug Reentry Alternative Model (DREAM), does not reflect the racial composition of the cases filed in this District (which already over-represents BIPOC people). BIPOC people are underrepresented in the DREAM program. The Federal Public Defender is working on ways to reduce barriers to entering the DREAM program.