Chief O’Toole has taken a significant step toward rebuilding the public’s trust and confidence in our Police Department in the hiring of four new assistant police chiefs and a new chief technology officer. It’s a bold step. A very correct…

The following article was sent out in my City View Newsletter, which you can sign up to receive here. President Obama announced a new initiative today—Invest in US—to raise awareness about the value of early learning. The president made the…

The following article was posted today on Crosscut. It has been just over a week since the grand jury made its decision in the Ferguson case, my hope is that we can soon get beyond the conflicting evidence presented to…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 7/15/2014
Councilmember Bruce Harrell
Federal Police Monitor to Brief Council on Police Reform Progress
Seattle – Councilmember Bruce Harrell, chair of the Public Safety, Civil Rights, and Technology committee will host F…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 4/17/2014
Council President Tim Burgess
Councilmember Bruce Harrell
Public Hearing on Seattle’s Police Accountability System
Tuesday, Apr. 22, 6 p.m. in Seattle City Hall Council Chambers
Seattle – City Council and …

Two communications from federal officials over the past week reinforced for me the urgent need for change in the leadership ranks of the Seattle Police Department. I know Mayor Murray shares this view and he has taken bold and decisive…

The Council’s public safety committee voted today to lift a restriction on the appointment of senior police commanders from outside of the Seattle Police Department. The City Council imposed the restriction way back in 1978, a move that required top…

Yesterday the police department released two reports about the department’s handling of last year’s May Day disturbances downtown, one completed internally and one by an independent third party. I commend the department for subjecting itself to a thorough, external review….

On July 27, the city took a significant step toward reform of the Seattle Police Department and improving public safety when the mayor agreed to a settlement and related companion agreement with the Department of Justice after seven months of…

Get the latest on the proposed SODO Arena, street crime, the Elliott Bay seawall ballot measure, Northgate and more on the new edition of the Seattle Channel’s City Inside/Out: Council Edition. Councilmembers Nick Licata, Jean Godden and I share our…