Seattle Police Chief Announces Retirement After Signing Off On $100,000 Pay Cut And Funding Cuts

TOPLINE

Seattle City Council on Monday approved a $3.5 million cut to the city’s police department for the rest of the year and signalled deeper cuts could be on the way, while some $17 million is being invested into community public safety following months of anti-racism demonstrations and calls to defund the police.

KEY FACTS

Chief critic

The Downtown Seattle Association hit back at the cuts to the police department, saying in a letter signed by local businesses and neighbourhoods: “In defunding SPD, the council moved with speed and pettiness rather than with precision and thoughtfulness,” Reuters reports.

What to watch for

Monday’s approved cuts are expected to lead to an overall budget reduction of $76 million in the 2021 budget, with discussions around next year’s funding set to begin next month. Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan has previously pledged to consider such a cut.

Key background

Anti-racism protests and calls to defund the police have grown louder in the wake of George Floyd’s death on Memorial Day, with advocates positing that funding should be redirected to services including mental health and housing. Critics claim that the move could lead to more crime but around 47% of Americans support cutting police budgets, according to an Axios/SurveyMonkey poll. Seattle City council’s decision to cut police funding followed a council probe that found 56% of emergency calls are for non-criminal activity, and only 3% of calls end in arrest. Overall, around a dozen cities across the U.S. have proposed cuts to police funding in the wake of sweeping protests, including New York and Los Angeles, while several departments have agreed to decrease officer numbers.

Crucial quote

Gonzalez said in a statement: “Reducing the budget of the Seattle Police Department is a response to the calls for advocating for racial justice and investments in BIPOC communities. 

“Our inquest into SPD’s budget revealed 3% of 911 calls result in arrest but 56% of calls involve non-criminal activity. As a City, we cannot look at this data and assume this is a best practice and cost-efficient.”

Tangent

Minneapolis City Council was the first to announce in June that it would disband the city’s police department and invest in community safety programs, after Floyd was killed in its custody. City Council President Lisa Bender said at the time: “In Minneapolis and in cities across the United States it is clear that our existing system of policing and public safety is not keeping our communities safe.” 

Further reading

Council President González: Summer Budget Rebalancing Effort ‘Charts a Course’ For Community-Informed Public Safety Interventions (Seattle City Council)

Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best says she will retire amid protests, City Council cuts (Seattle Times)

At Least 11 Cities Are Defunding Their Police Departments (Forbes)