Seattle police should exit federal oversight after 13 years, DOJ says

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday recommended ending 13 years of court-ordered federal oversight of Seattle's police department, saying it substantially complied with reforms to address civil rights violations and excessive use of force.

The Justice Department said in a statement to the U.S. District Court in Seattle that it supported ending the consent decree that established the arrangement in 2012.

That followed a review that found Seattle police regularly violated residents' civil rights and that officers were too quick to use their batons and other weapons.

The police department achieved "sustained substantial compliance," DOJ said.

The reforms included changes to the police department's practices on use of force, crisis intervention, stops, detentions, supervision and accountability.

The 2011 review found that in encounters that required force, police used excessive force 20% of the time. When officers used their batons, more than half the time it was unnecessary or excessive.

Under former President Joe Biden, the Justice Department said in early 2023 that the city had taken steps to address a prior pattern of police misconduct.

Among the changes were creation of a Community Police Commission charged with police oversight. The city also established a team to investigate all incidents involving "serious uses of force," according to the Justice Department.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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