Category: Councilmember Harrell

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 4/1/2014
Councilmember Bruce Harrell
Councilmember Harrell to convene discussion on plan to reduce downtown crime, street disorder
Seattle - City Councilmember Bruce Harrell will convene the Public Safety, Civil Rights, ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 3/10/2014

Councilmember Bruce A. Harrell

Council Briefed by Community Police Commission

Seattle - Councilmember Bruce Harrell, chair of the Council's Public Safety, Civil Rights and Technology Committee, hosted the Community Police Commission (CPC) at Council Briefing on Monday. The CPC highlighted work from 2013 and discussed the 2014 work plan.

"The 15 commissioners have done tremendous work representing the diversity of Seattle and advancing reform," said Harrell. "The CPC has been a critical resource in helping us develop community dialogue and facilitating community relationships to enhance public safety for all," Harrell added.

Link to the briefing documents are available online:

• Community Police Commission Update Presentation
• Community Outreach Report
• Community Police Commission Summary Report

The CPC was established in 2012 as part of the Department of Justice Settlement Agreement. The 15 community representatives are responsible for making recommendations to the City on any changes to Seattle Police Department (SPD) policies, practice, training regarding stops and detentions, bias-free policing, transparency and public reporting, and Office of Professional Accountability.

The Commission has accomplished extensive community outreach. In total, the Commission has conducted over 150 outreach events and has received input from over 3,400 community members. Those communities include but are not limited to communities of color, homeless, immigrants and refugees, youth, people with disabilities, individuals with substance abuse problems, and members of the LGBT community.

[View in Council Newsroom]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 3/7/2014
Councilmember Bruce A. Harrell
Community Police Commission to brief Council
Seattle - Councilmember Bruce Harrell, chair of the Council's Public Safety, Civil Rights and Technology Committee, will host the Community...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 2/25/2014

Councilmember Bruce Harrell

Councilmember Harrell to host Police Disciplinary Review Process discussion at committee

Seattle - City Councilmember Bruce Harrell will convene a Special Public Safety, Civil Rights, and Technology committee meeting this Wednesday to discuss the Police Chief's disciplinary review process and the Office of Professional Accountability's investigative review of police misconduct.

The purpose of the committee meeting is to hold an open and transparent discussion regarding the following issues:

1. Chief Bailey's decision and explanation of his disciplinary review process and plan moving forward; how does the Chief arrive at settlement process?
2. Provide clarification on the current Office of Professional Accountability complaint process.
3. Provide clarification on the Grievance Procedure under Appendix A of the Seattle Police Officers Guild contract.
4. What are the questions raised to improve the process in resolving grievance cases in a timely manner and work plan to identify a solution?

"As we implement the Department of Justice's Settlement Agreement and search for a new permanent Police Chief, we must send a clear signal that police misconduct will not be tolerated," said Councilmember Harrell, chair of the Council's Public Safety, Civil Rights and Technology Committee. "There must be a transparent system with appropriate checks and balances."

Councilmember Harrell has invited the following representatives:

1. Harry Bailey, Interim Chief of Police
2. Tag Gleason, Assistant Chief Compliance and Professional Standards Bureau
3. Pete Holmes, City Attorney
4. Jean Boler, Law
5. Hyeok Kim, Deputy Mayor
6. Tina Podlodowski, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of Policy and Innovation
7. Barney Melekian, Mayor's Office
8. Pierce Murphy, Director of the Office of Professional Accountability
9. Susan Coskey, Personnel
10. David Bracilano, Labor Relations
11. Fe Lopez, Interim Director Community Police Commission

WHAT:
Public Safety, Civil Rights and Technology Committee

WHEN:
2:00 p.m., Wednesday, February 26

WHERE:
Council Chambers, 2nd floor
Seattle City Hall, 600 Fourth Avenue, Seattle 98104

[View in Council Newsroom]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 2/18/2014
Councilmember Bruce Harrell
Councilmember Harrell to host community meeting regarding the Community Police Commission and the Office for Civil Rights
Seattle - City Councilmember Bruce Harrell will host a spec...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 2/3/2014

Councilmember Bruce A. Harrell

Seattle City Council names street after noted civil rights leader

Seattle - City Council unanimously established the honorary name designation of 19th Avenue from East Union to East Madison Streets as "Rev. Dr. S. McKinney Ave." The resolution was adopted to honor the extraordinary civil rights work of Reverend Dr. Samuel B. McKinney.

Reverend McKinney advanced Seattle's civil rights movement in the 1960s and served as minister and pastor of Seattle's Mount Zion Baptist Church from 1958 until his retirement in 1998. Dr. McKinney's voice echoed beyond the walls of the church and into the halls of local and state governments.

Dr. McKinney worked to sensitize the community to the needs of the less fortunate, regardless of ethnic background, and soon became a leading voice of the black community. In 1961, Reverend McKinney convinced his college classmate and friend, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to make his only Seattle visit in 1961 from November 8 to November 10.

"The push for equal employment, housing and educational opportunities from Dr. McKinney's bullhorn are issues we still work to solve today," said Councilmember Bruce Harrell, chair of the Public Safety, Civil Rights, and Technology Committee. "Dr. McKinney and his late wife, Louise, made a lasting impact on race and social justice issues and positively influenced this city."

"Rev. McKinney continues to inspire and remind us today of the work that remains to be done for social justice," said Councilmember Tom Rasmussen.

"We are delighted to see the city of Seattle finally give honor to Rev. Dr. Samuel B. McKinney for nearly 60 years of hard work and dedication to the civil rights movement in this city," said Gerald Hankerson, Seattle/King County NAACP President. "His lifetime of leadership and helping shape the city, as we know it today, is more than deserving of a street being named in his honor. We stand proud to see one of Seattle's iconic Civil Right leaders be recognized for his legacy and the many lives impacted by his work."

"I would like to applaud the Seattle City Council for naming this street to honor the Rev. Dr. Samuel B. McKinney," said Michael Ramos, Executive Director of the Church Council of Greater Seattle. "It is fitting, just and timely that such a designation be made, in honor of the great preacher, pastor, civil rights leader and community voice who has done so much in the walk for social justice. We thank you for affirming this designation and express our gratitude for the tremendous legacy that Rev. Dr. McKinney has left and continues to leave for us to build upon."

"As an original member of the Seattle Human Rights Commission, Rev. Dr. McKinney and his fellow Commissioners were responsible for the origination and ultimate passage of the open housing ordinance - the first fair housing act in Seattle's history," said Catherine Moore, Seattle Human Rights Commission Co-Chair. "This legislation was one of countless contributions by the Rev. Dr. McKinney to the realization of human rights in the city of Seattle. The Seattle Human Rights Commission owes a debt of gratitude to the Rev. Dr. McKinney for forging the path of the Commission as a voice for justice and human dignity." 

Councilmembers Bruce Harrell and Tom Rasmussen held two public feedback meetings in 2013, where community members expressed their support to recognize Rev. Dr. Samuel McKinney at 19th Avenue.

The street name designation is honorary. The legal name of 19th Avenue would not change nor would the official addresses on the street.

[View in Council Newsroom]