Item Number:  9a Draft Motion 
Meeting Date:  June 30, 2020 
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5                                                     MOTION 2020-15: 
6                                      A MOTION OF THE PORT OF SEATTLE COMMISSION 
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8                             to direct a comprehensive assessment of the Port of Seattle
9                             Police Department to ensure alignment with the highest
10                          national standards and best practices related to policing; and
11                          to establish a Commission Task Force to lead the assessment 
12                          and develop recommendations for action. 
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14                                                    PROPOSED 
15                                                  JULY 14, 2020 
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17                                                  INTRODUCTION 
18    A broad consensus has formed in the United States that a close examination of current policing practices
19    is necessary and urgent. The Port of Seattle has the responsibility during this critical moment in history
20    to ensure that our Police Department is held to the highest nationwide standards achievable for public
21    safety, protection of civil rights, equity, accountability and oversight. 
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23    While much of the Port of Seattle Police Department's primary function is in service to port-owned
24    facilities and the unique requirements of international aviation and maritime activities, public safety
25    remains at the core of its mission. In addition, Port Police also provide mutual aid requests to other
26    jurisdictions, when needed. 
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28    The Port can lead by example, by embracing the need for a thorough review, and by acting swiftly and
29    meaningfully in identifying and acting upon areas for improvement. 
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31                                              TEXT OF THE MOTION 
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33    The Port of Seattle Commission hereby directs a comprehensive assessment of the Port of Seattle Police
34    Department's policies, protocols and procedures impacting issues of diversity, equity and civil rights, and 
35    develop recommendations for action. 
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37        1)  The Commission affirms its strong support for the actions taken on June 23, 2020 by the
38            Executive Director under his authority to immediately implement reforms to Port Police policies
39            and practices: 
40                a.   An immediate ban on use of vascular or airway neck restraints, termed by the public as
41                    "chokeholds.'' 
42                b.  Ensuring diversity in all Police hiring evaluation panels. 
43                c.   In recruitment and evaluation of police officer candidates, automatically disqualifying
44                    applicants based on a substantiated finding of the use of excessive force against a
45                    member of the public, or a substantiated finding of racial discrimination against another
46                    employee or the public. 

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47                d.  Ensuring that police training required for all officers on a regular basis includes de-
48                    escalation training, bystander intervention where an officer observes another officer
49                    acting in violation of the law or Port of Seattle policies, and anti-discrimination training. 
50                e.   Reviewing the issue of "qualified immunity'' as it applies to police officer conduct for
51                    inclusion in the Port's federal legislative agenda. 
52                f. Continuing the Port's moratorium on police use of facial recognition technology. 
53                g.   Making Police Department policies visible to the public and Port staff. 
54                h. Ensuring Police officers' names are clearly identifiable on any uniform worn on duty. 
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56        2)  The Commission authorizes the creation of a Commission Task Force on Port Policing and Civil
57            Rights. The Task Force will include two Port of Seattle Commissioners appointed by the
58            Commission President, who will oversee and help guide this assessment. The Commission
59            President shall also appoint two Task Force Co-Chairs. 
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61        3)  The Task Force will develop and implement the approach, methodology, scope of work, and
62            timeline for the assessment. It will also develop recommendations for action, to include short 
63            and long-term, and will report back to the full Commission on a regular basis. In addition to the
64            two Commissioners, the task force will be composed of: 
65                a. Representatives from the Port's Blacks in Government employee resource group, the
66                    Office of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, Port Police, Legal, Human Resources, Labor
67                    Relations, and other Port corporate and business divisions. 
68                b.  External representatives on the Task Force may include community leaders, civil rights
69                    advocates, union representatives, and experts on criminal justice and law enforcement. 
70                c.   A consultant may be necessary to provide assistance to the Task Force and members of
71                    the Task Force will be responsible for procuring the services of a consultant. Sufficient
72                    funds reserved for this purpose shall be included in the 2020, 2021 and 2022 budgets. 
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74        4)  The Task Force shall have the authority to review any documentation, including police after-
75            action reports, use of force reports, demographic data and any other information necessary,
76            within legal limits and privacy laws, to effectively and comprehensively conduct the assessment.
77            In developing a scope of work, the Task Force shall review all relevant issues, as identified.
78            Those issues may include, but not be limited to: 
79                a.   Diversity in Recruitment and Hiring: The assessment should include how potential
80                    officers are vetted during the testing, backgrounding and overall hiring process,
81                    including how past substantiated complaints and substantiated instances of misconduct
82                    are identified and considered during the hiring process. Building on the Executive
83                    Director's executive action that would disqualify applicants based on substantiated
84                    instances of excessive use of force or racial discrimination, the assessment should more
85                    clearly define the types of misconduct that would be prohibited, such as unjustified use
86                    of deadly force or racial profiling. It should also assess the diversity of the Port of Seattle
87                    Police and what additional efforts can be made to increase diversity beyond the 
88                    Executive Director's new mandate for diversity on hiring evaluation panels, such as 
89                    increasing diversity outreach during the recruitment process, more specifically defining
90                    and quantifying hiring panel diversity, or removing disqualifications or other reasons for
91                    rejecting a candidate that disproportionately impact people of color. 
92                b.  Training and Development: The assessment should build on the Executive Director's
93                    new mandate for anti-bias and de-escalation training by conducting a comprehensive
94                    review of the Police training curriculum, including how training promotes a "guardian
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95                    mentality" approach to policing. In addition, the assessment should review how officers
96                    are developed and advanced throughout the organization, to include collective
97                    bargaining agreements, that ensures equitable outcomes for people of color in the
98                    police force. 
99                c.   Equity: The assessment should identify what protocols and oversight are in place to
100                   ensure all officers  including Black officers and other officers of color in the police force
101                    are treated respectfully, equally, and equitably. The assessment should determine
102                   what protocols are in place to identify and report any mistreatment experienced or
103                   observed that are contrary to the Port's high standards expected of law enforcement,
104                   without fear of retaliation or reprisal. 
105                d.  Use-of-Force: The assessment should include a review of protocols governing use-of-
106                   force beyond the Executive Director's ban on use of potentially lethal vascular or airway
107                   neck restraints, sometimes termed as "chokeholds." The assessment should consider
108                   additional prohibitions on other potentially lethal techniques. In addition, the
109                   assessment should include a review of potential changes to the Police policy, practices
110                   or protocols on the use of tear gas and pepper spray chemicals, blast bombs, and other
111                   less lethal weapons and tactics used to manage and disperse crowds and/or respond to
112                   crisis situations. 
113                e.  Oversight and Accountability: The assessment should look at how complaints by
114                   members of the public or other Port employees are handled, balancing officers' rights
115                   with appropriate civilian oversight. In addition, the assessment should review how the
116                   Commission, Port leadership and/or external groups can and should provide relevant
117                   oversight and facilitate accountability and transparency to the community. In particular,
118                   the task force should review how invocation of "qualified immunity" by a Port Police
119                   office in a civil lawsuit filed in federal court is or is not considered as part of the internal
120                   Port Police discliplinary process, and how Port leadership and the public are made
121                   aware of such civil cases where "qualified immunity" is invoked. 
122                f.   Police Union Participation: The assessment should also engage police union
123                   representatives in collaborative dialogue about how collective bargaining agreements
124                   properly balance officers' rights with the ability to enforce a high standard of conduct
125                   and continued employment; how members of the police department are held
126                   accountable for violations; and whether the negotiated disciplinary process could be
127                   improved. The assessment should also identify any issues related to collective
128                   bargaining that have the potential to serve as or create barriers to progress on
129                   addressing systemic racial issues to the success of people of color in the police
130                   department. 
131                g.  Budget, Roles and Equipment: The assessment should examine how and if Port Police
132                   roles and responsibilities could be better invested in community-focused policing. In
133                   addition, the assessment should review Port Police equipment and supplies used to 
134                   conduct routine police work, including mass events and crowd management, and 
135                   determine if any are excessive or unnecessary to conduct police work. 
136                h.  Mutual Aid: The assessment should include how and when the Port Police engage in
137                   mutual aid, the protocols for that engagement to ensure alignment with Port values and
138                   policing policies, and the formal agreements in place to ensure compliance with Port
139                   standards when engaged in mutual aid. The assessment should also look at how the Port
140                   and partner agencies review these mutual aid agreements on a regular basis, as well as
141                   the risks and benefits of mutual aid in the various scenarios in which it is provided.

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142                i.   Advocacy: The assessment should include a review of potential state and federal
143                   legislation and reforms in addition to qualified immunity, such as misconduct tracking 
144                   databases, for the Port to include in its advocacy efforts. 
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146        5)  By no later than October 31, 2020, the Task Force shall submit the first report on progress and
147            any recommendations for immediate actions that can be considered for implementation. The
148            timeline for the remaining recommendations will be determined by the Task Force through its
149            deliberative process. As recommendations are developed, the Task Force Co-Chairs shall submit
150            a report to the Executive Director and Commission who will review the report within 90 days of
151            receipt. The Executive Director, Commission President, Task Force and Port Police will
152            collaborate to respond to the recommendations within 6 months. The Task Force will continue
153            its work until such time as the Commission creates an alternative mechanism for ongoing annual
154            or biannual assessments, and any other permanent review processes that are recommended. 
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156    If, during the assessment, the Task Force recognizes the need to review additional policies, practices and
157    protocols, those should also be incorporated into any final recommendations. The Commission shall
158    consider how to best create permanent Port policies based on the recommendations of the Task Force 
159    in order to create binding, long-term change  either through Executive Director implementation,
160    Commission action or the collective bargaining process. 
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162                                     STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF THE MOTION 
163    The tragic killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Manuel Ellis, Rayshard Brooks and Ahmaud Arbery
164    are only some of the most recent in a long history of unjust killings of Black Americans at the hands of
165    police, reflecting a deeply disturbing pattern of systemic racism in our country that continues to severely
166    impact our cities, communities and essential institutions. 
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168    Over the past few weeks, hundreds of thousands across our nation gathered to protest, and continue to
169    protest, the unjust death of George Floyd, and the tolerance of racism by our communities and
170    institutions. The cruelty and callousness of these deaths is abhorrent to a just and civil society. Recent
171    demonstrations organized by groups in our community and around the country and world have offered
172    people an opportunity to share their pain, heal, organize, and demand immediate action for broad social
173    change, and to end systemic racism in policing and beyond. 
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175    Black Lives Matter and the nation are calling for an end to racial injustice, police brutality, killings and
176    dehumanizing of Black Americans, and major reform of policing in the United States. There is a clear
177    demand for an end to these issues, and immediate, deliberate action with sustained resolve. 
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179    The Port of Seattle relies on a diverse and inclusive workforce to accomplish our work for a better
180    future. Respect for one another is a Port core value. The Port must therefore take responsibility by doing 
181    its part to respond to the call of history at this seminal moment. 
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183    In light of the national movement to reexamine policing within our communities and in accordance with
184    the Port's Century Agenda goal to "Become a Model for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion," a review of the
185    policies, practices and oversight of the Port of Seattle Police is fully appropriate. On July 14, the Port of
186    Seattle Commission will vote to direct a comprehensive assessment of the Port of Seattle Police
187    Department's policies, protocols and procedures impacting issues of diversity, equity and civil rights, in
188    order to develop recommendations for action. In addition, the Commission will authorize the creation of
189    a Commission Task Force on Port Policing and Civil Rights. Based on the work of the Task Force, the Port
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190    will issue a set of recommendations and a plan for ensuring that the work of the Port Police is
191    transparent and accountable to community members and is fostering safe, healthy communities. 
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193    On June 23, Executive Director Metruck announced publicly that he would use his authority to direct the
194    Acting Port of Seattle Police Chief to take immediate actions on this topic, including an immediate ban
195    on use of vascular or airway neck restraints; mandates related to diversity on Police hiring evaluation
196    panels; disqualifications of Police officer applicants based on a substantiated finding of the use of
197    excessive force against a member of the public, or a substantiated finding of racial discrimination against
198    another employee; requirements for de-escalation, "bystander'' intervention and anti-discrimination
199    training and other items. 
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201    The embrace of reforms in police departments around the country has shown how adapting policies
202    based on values of civil society, social justice, and the best available science can reduce the incidence of
203    violence in encounters between members of the community and police. It must be stated that the Port
204    of Seattle Police have not been implicated in the kinds of tragic events that are the focus of local and
205    nationwide protests. In spite of that record of strong public service to the community, the work of the
206    task force less urgent and necessary, and will broadly benefit the Port, the communities we serve, and
207    users of Port facilities. 












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