Motion 2020-15 a motion to authorize a comprehensive assessment of the Port Police Department Page 1 of 5
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MOTION 2020-15:
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A MOTION OF THE PORT OF SEATTLE COMMISSION
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to direct a comprehensive assessment of the Port of Seattle
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Police Department to ensure alignment with the highest
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national standards and best practices related to policing; and
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to establish a Commission Task Force to lead the assessment
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and develop recommendations for action.
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PROPOSED
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JULY 14, 2020
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INTRODUCTION
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A broad consensus has formed in the United States that a close examination of current policing practices
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is necessary and urgent. The Port of Seattle has the responsibility during this critical moment in history
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to ensure that our Police Department is held to the highest nationwide standards achievable for public
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safety, protection of civil rights, equity, accountability and oversight.
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While much of the Port of Seattle Police Department’s primary function is in service to port-owned
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facilities and the unique requirements of international aviation and maritime activities, public safety
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remains at the core of its mission. In addition, Port Police also provide mutual aid requests to other
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jurisdictions, when needed.
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The Port can lead by example, by embracing the need for a thorough review, and by acting swiftly and
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meaningfully in identifying and acting upon areas for improvement.
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TEXT OF THE MOTION
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The Port of Seattle Commission hereby directs a comprehensive assessment of the Port of Seattle Police
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Department’s policies, protocols and procedures impacting issues of diversity, equity and civil rights, and
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develop recommendations for action.
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1) The Commission affirms its strong support for the actions taken on June 23, 2020 by the
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Executive Director under his authority to immediately implement reforms to Port Police policies
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and practices:
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a. An immediate ban on use of vascular or airway neck restraints, termed by the public as
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“chokeholds.’’
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b. Ensuring diversity in all Police hiring evaluation panels.
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c. In recruitment and evaluation of police officer candidates, automatically disqualifying
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applicants based on a substantiated finding of the use of excessive force against a
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member of the public, or a substantiated finding of racial discrimination against another
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employee or the public.
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Item Number: 9a Draft Motion
Meeting Date: June 30, 2020
Motion 2020-15 a motion to authorize a comprehensive assessment of the Port Police Department Page 2 of 5
d. Ensuring that police training required for all officers on a regular basis includes de-
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escalation training, bystander intervention where an officer observes another officer
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acting in violation of the law or Port of Seattle policies, and anti-discrimination training.
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e. Reviewing the issue of “qualified immunity’’ as it applies to police officer conduct for
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inclusion in the Port’s federal legislative agenda.
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f. Continuing the Port’s moratorium on police use of facial recognition technology.
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g. Making Police Department policies visible to the public and Port staff.
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h. Ensuring Police officers’ names are clearly identifiable on any uniform worn on duty.
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2) The Commission authorizes the creation of a Commission Task Force on Port Policing and Civil
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Rights. The Task Force will include two Port of Seattle Commissioners appointed by the
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Commission President, who will oversee and help guide this assessment. The Commission
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President shall also appoint two Task Force Co-Chairs.
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3) The Task Force will develop and implement the approach, methodology, scope of work, and
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timeline for the assessment. It will also develop recommendations for action, to include short
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and long-term, and will report back to the full Commission on a regular basis. In addition to the
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two Commissioners, the task force will be composed of:
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a. Representatives from the Port’s Blacks in Government employee resource group, the
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Office of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, Port Police, Legal, Human Resources, Labor
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Relations, and other Port corporate and business divisions.
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b. External representatives on the Task Force may include community leaders, civil rights
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advocates, union representatives, and experts on criminal justice and law enforcement.
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c. A consultant may be necessary to provide assistance to the Task Force and members of
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the Task Force will be responsible for procuring the services of a consultant. Sufficient
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funds reserved for this purpose shall be included in the 2020, 2021 and 2022 budgets.
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4) The Task Force shall have the authority to review any documentation, including police after-
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action reports, use of force reports, demographic data and any other information necessary,
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within legal limits and privacy laws, to effectively and comprehensively conduct the assessment.
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In developing a scope of work, the Task Force shall review all relevant issues, as identified.
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Those issues may include, but not be limited to:
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a. Diversity in Recruitment and Hiring: The assessment should include how potential
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officers are vetted during the testing, backgrounding and overall hiring process,
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including how past substantiated complaints and substantiated instances of misconduct
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are identified and considered during the hiring process. Building on the Executive
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Director’s executive action that would disqualify applicants based on substantiated
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instances of excessive use of force or racial discrimination, the assessment should more
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clearly define the types of misconduct that would be prohibited, such as unjustified use
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of deadly force or racial profiling. It should also assess the diversity of the Port of Seattle
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Police and what additional efforts can be made to increase diversity beyond the
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Executive Director’s new mandate for diversity on hiring evaluation panels, such as
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increasing diversity outreach during the recruitment process, more specifically defining
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and quantifying hiring panel diversity, or removing disqualifications or other reasons for
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rejecting a candidate that disproportionately impact people of color.
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b. Training and Development: The assessment should build on the Executive Director’s
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new mandate for anti-bias and de-escalation training by conducting a comprehensive
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review of the Police training curriculum, including how training promotes a “guardian
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mentality” approach to policing. In addition, the assessment should review how officers
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are developed and advanced throughout the organization, to include collective
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bargaining agreements, that ensures equitable outcomes for people of color in the
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police force.
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c. Equity: The assessment should identify what protocols and oversight are in place to
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ensure all officers – including Black officers and other officers of color in the police force
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– are treated respectfully, equally, and equitably. The assessment should determine
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what protocols are in place to identify and report any mistreatment experienced or
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observed that are contrary to the Port’s high standards expected of law enforcement,
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without fear of retaliation or reprisal.
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d. Use-of-Force: The assessment should include a review of protocols governing use-of-
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force beyond the Executive Director’s ban on use of potentially lethal vascular or airway
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neck restraints, sometimes termed as “chokeholds.” The assessment should consider
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additional prohibitions on other potentially lethal techniques. In addition, the
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assessment should include a review of potential changes to the Police policy, practices
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or protocols on the use of tear gas and pepper spray chemicals, blast bombs, and other
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less lethal weapons and tactics used to manage and disperse crowds and/or respond to
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crisis situations.
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e. Oversight and Accountability: The assessment should look at how complaints by
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members of the public or other Port employees are handled, balancing officers’ rights
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with appropriate civilian oversight. In addition, the assessment should review how the
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Commission, Port leadership and/or external groups can and should provide relevant
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oversight and facilitate accountability and transparency to the community. In particular,
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the task force should review how invocation of “qualified immunity” by a Port Police
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office in a civil lawsuit filed in federal court is or is not considered as part of the internal
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Port Police discliplinary process, and how Port leadership and the public are made
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aware of such civil cases where “qualified immunity” is invoked.
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f. Police Union Participation: The assessment should also engage police union
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representatives in collaborative dialogue about how collective bargaining agreements
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properly balance officers’ rights with the ability to enforce a high standard of conduct
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and continued employment; how members of the police department are held
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accountable for violations; and whether the negotiated disciplinary process could be
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improved. The assessment should also identify any issues related to collective
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bargaining that have the potential to serve as or create barriers to progress on
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addressing systemic racial issues to the success of people of color in the police
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department.
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g. Budget, Roles and Equipment: The assessment should examine how and if Port Police
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roles and responsibilities could be better invested in community-focused policing. In
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addition, the assessment should review Port Police equipment and supplies used to
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conduct routine police work, including mass events and crowd management, and
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determine if any are excessive or unnecessary to conduct police work.
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h. Mutual Aid: The assessment should include how and when the Port Police engage in
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mutual aid, the protocols for that engagement to ensure alignment with Port values and
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policing policies, and the formal agreements in place to ensure compliance with Port
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standards when engaged in mutual aid. The assessment should also look at how the Port
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and partner agencies review these mutual aid agreements on a regular basis, as well as
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the risks and benefits of mutual aid in the various scenarios in which it is provided.
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i. Advocacy: The assessment should include a review of potential state and federal
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legislation and reforms in addition to qualified immunity, such as misconduct tracking
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databases, for the Port to include in its advocacy efforts.
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5) By no later than October 31, 2020, the Task Force shall submit the first report on progress and
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any recommendations for immediate actions that can be considered for implementation. The
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timeline for the remaining recommendations will be determined by the Task Force through its
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deliberative process. As recommendations are developed, the Task Force Co-Chairs shall submit
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a report to the Executive Director and Commission who will review the report within 90 days of
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receipt. The Executive Director, Commission President, Task Force and Port Police will
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collaborate to respond to the recommendations within 6 months. The Task Force will continue
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its work until such time as the Commission creates an alternative mechanism for ongoing annual
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or biannual assessments, and any other permanent review processes that are recommended.
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If, during the assessment, the Task Force recognizes the need to review additional policies, practices and
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protocols, those should also be incorporated into any final recommendations. The Commission shall
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consider how to best create permanent Port policies based on the recommendations of the Task Force
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in order to create binding, long-term change – either through Executive Director implementation,
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Commission action or the collective bargaining process.
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STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF THE MOTION
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The tragic killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Manuel Ellis, Rayshard Brooks and Ahmaud Arbery
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are only some of the most recent in a long history of unjust killings of Black Americans at the hands of
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police, reflecting a deeply disturbing pattern of systemic racism in our country that continues to severely
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impact our cities, communities and essential institutions.
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Over the past few weeks, hundreds of thousands across our nation gathered to protest, and continue to
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protest, the unjust death of George Floyd, and the tolerance of racism by our communities and
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institutions. The cruelty and callousness of these deaths is abhorrent to a just and civil society. Recent
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demonstrations organized by groups in our community and around the country and world have offered
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people an opportunity to share their pain, heal, organize, and demand immediate action for broad social
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change, and to end systemic racism in policing and beyond.
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Black Lives Matter and the nation are calling for an end to racial injustice, police brutality, killings and
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dehumanizing of Black Americans, and major reform of policing in the United States. There is a clear
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demand for an end to these issues, and immediate, deliberate action with sustained resolve.
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The Port of Seattle relies on a diverse and inclusive workforce to accomplish our work for a better
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future. Respect for one another is a Port core value. The Port must therefore take responsibility by doing
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its part to respond to the call of history at this seminal moment.
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In light of the national movement to reexamine policing within our communities and in accordance with
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the Port’s Century Agenda goal to “Become a Model for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion,” a review of the
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policies, practices and oversight of the Port of Seattle Police is fully appropriate. On July 14, the Port of
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Seattle Commission will vote to direct a comprehensive assessment of the Port of Seattle Police
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Department’s policies, protocols and procedures impacting issues of diversity, equity and civil rights, in
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order to develop recommendations for action. In addition, the Commission will authorize the creation of
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a Commission Task Force on Port Policing and Civil Rights. Based on the work of the Task Force, the Port
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Motion 2020-15 a motion to authorize a comprehensive assessment of the Port Police Department Page 5 of 5
will issue a set of recommendations and a plan for ensuring that the work of the Port Police is
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transparent and accountable to community members and is fostering safe, healthy communities.
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On June 23, Executive Director Metruck announced publicly that he would use his authority to direct the
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Acting Port of Seattle Police Chief to take immediate actions on this topic, including an immediate ban
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on use of vascular or airway neck restraints; mandates related to diversity on Police hiring evaluation
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panels; disqualifications of Police officer applicants based on a substantiated finding of the use of
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excessive force against a member of the public, or a substantiated finding of racial discrimination against
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another employee; requirements for de-escalation, “bystander’’ intervention and anti-discrimination
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training and other items.
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The embrace of reforms in police departments around the country has shown how adapting policies
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based on values of civil society, social justice, and the best available science can reduce the incidence of
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violence in encounters between members of the community and police. It must be stated that the Port
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of Seattle Police have not been implicated in the kinds of tragic events that are the focus of local and
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nationwide protests. In spite of that record of strong public service to the community, the work of the
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task force less urgent and necessary, and will broadly benefit the Port, the communities we serve, and
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users of Port facilities.
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