Commission Task Force on
Policing and Civil Rights
Progress Update
November 17, 2020

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OVERVIEW OF MOTION 2020-15

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Commission Motion 2020-15
Adopted on July 14, 2020
It did three main things:
1.  Endorsed immediate steps taken by Executive Director to reform Port
police policies and practices such as an immediate ban on chokeholds and
ensuring officers receive regular de-escalation training, bystander
intervention and anti-discrimination training
2.  Directed a comprehensive assessment of the Port of Seattle Police
Department to ensure alignment with the highest national standards and
best practices related to policing
3.  Established a Commission Task Force on Port Policing and Civil Rights to
lead the assessment and develop recommendations for action

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Areas for Assessment
1. Diversity in Recruitment and Hiring
2. Training and Development
3. Equity
4. Use of Force
5. Oversight and Accountability
6. Police Union Participation
7. Budget, Roles, and Equipment
8. Mutual Aid
9. Advocacy
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Key Dates
By October 31, 2020  First Task Force Progress Report and recommendations for immediate
actions
o Ongoing  As recommendations are developed, the Task Force Co-Chairs shall submit a
report to the Commission and Executive Director
90 days review period
Within 6 months response to recommendations
By July 31, 2021  Deliver Final Recommendations to Commission
The Task Force shall collect and review existing research, data, and best practices from
similar assessments and reports completed throughout the country, as well as remain
coordinated with current local and state efforts in order to maximize efficiency and alignment.
The Task Force shall establish key metrics for evaluation of success for this process, and
metrics for measurement of progress toward any resulting recommendations.
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Task Force Leadership
Task Force Co-Chairs
Bookda Gheisar, Senior Director of Equity, Diversity and
Inclusion
Delmas Whittaker, Senior Manager of Fishing Vessel Services;
President of the Port's chapter of Blacks in Government (BIG)
Task Force Commissioners:
Commissioner Peter Steinbrueck
Commissioner Ryan Calkins
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Task Force Members
1.  Marin Burnett  Port of Seattle, Strategic Initiatives, Strategic Planning Manager
2.  Milton Ellis  Port of Seattle, Labor Relations, Labor Relations Manager
3.  Sean Gillebo  Port of Seattle Police Department, Commander
4.  Monisha Harrell  Equal Rights Washington, Chair
5.  John Hayes  Seattle Police Department, Captain
6.  Jesse Johnson  Washington State Representative
7.  Deborah Jacobs  King County Office of Law Enforcement Oversight, Director
8.  Anne Levinson  Retired Judge, Deputy Mayor, and police accountability Oversight Auditor
9.  Sofia Mayo  Port of Seattle, Central Procurement Office, Senior Manager Service Agreements
10. Sam Pailca  Microsoft, Associate General Counsel, Office of Legal Compliance; Board Member of ACLU Washington
11. Eric Schinfeld  Port of Seattle, External Affairs, Senior Manager, Federal and International Government Relations
12. Ericka Singh  Port of Seattle Human Resources, Talent Acquisition Manager
13. Jessica Sullivan  REI, Corporate Security and Emergency Manager; retired Captain, King County Sheriff's Office
14. Veronica Valdez  Port of Seattle, Commission Office, Commission Specialist
15. Michelle Woodrow  Teamsters, Local 117, President and Executive Director
16. Shaunie Wheeler  Teamsters, Local 117, Political & Legislative Director Joint Council of Teamsters No. 28

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Task Force Structure
Task Force Leadership
Co-Chairs and
Commissioners
Steinbrueck/Calkins

Task Force Staff
Marin Burnett
Task Force                          Eric Schinfeld
Veronica Valdez

Subcommittee Chairs:
Subcommittee Chairs:       Subcommittee Chairs:       Subcommittee Chairs:                                   Subcommittee Chair:
Oversight,                                           Subcommittee Chairs:        Subcommittee Chair:
Diversity in Recruitment             Training &                  Use-of-Force                                             Budget, Roles and
Accountability, Racial                                             Mutual Aid                    Advocacy
and Hiring                  Development                                                                            Equipment
Equity and Civil Rights
Subcom mittee
Subcommittee D:
Subcommittee E:
Subcommittee A:            Subcommittee B:            Subcommittee C:              Oversight,                                         Subcommittee: F           Subcommittee G:
Budget, Roles an
Diversity in Recruiting        Training & Development            Use-of-Force             Accountability, Racial                                             Mutual Aid                    Advocacy
Equipment
Equity and Civil Rights

Each member of the Task Force (excluding Commissioners, Co-Chairs and staffers) will lead a subcommittee

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Consultant
21CP Solutions
Selected through a rigorous RFP process, 21CP was formed by members of President
Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing
21CP Solutions "helps cities and communities effectively tackle the challenges of
delivering safe, effective, just, and constitutional public safety services in the 21st
Century."
Role of consultant:
Conduct analysis of police department policies, practices and programs
Facilitate subcommittee meetings
Prepare reports, minutes and recommendations

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Policing Motion                                                      Phase 1          Phase 2        Phase 3
Subcommittee Meeting structure            Task Force mtg
Subcommittees C,D,F     Subcommittees A,B   Subcommittees E,G
Jan 22
18 weeks               12 weeks           12 weeks
Phase 1 Recommendations            7-9 meets               5-7 meets            4-6 meets
Task Force Progress Report                        Feb 1                                    Sept-Jan                  Dec-Mar              Feb-May
(highly complex)       (moderately complex)   (mildly complex)
Task Force mtg                                        Task Force mtg
Oct 28                                                     Feb 19
Task Force mtg                                        Task Force mtg
Nov 25                                                 Mar 19
Task Fo rce mtg        CDF                                        EG             Phase 2 Recommendations          Phase 3 Recommendations
Nov 27,
Sep 30                                                              Feb 25            Mar 19                               Jun 1
2020F
CDF         CDF               AB                          AB                      Task Force mtg              Task Force mtg
Sep 30, 2020    O  ct 30, 2020            Dec 15, 2020                             Feb 25                            Apr 19                            Jun 23
CDF        CDF        CDF           CDF      AB       AB   AB         EG        EG         EG        Task Force mtg          Task Force mtg
Sep 15, 2020   Oct 13, 202 0   Nov 10, 2020      Dec 15, 2020   Jan 5       Jan 28 Feb 9         Mar 9         Apr 6         May 4          May 21                      Jul 16
Task Force mtg
Aug 20
Sep       Oct        Nov       Dec       2021      Feb       Mar       Apr       May       Jun        Jul         Aug
SubCom C - Use -of-Force                                           Sep 8 - Jan 11
SubCom D - Oversight, Accountability, Racial Equity & Civil Rights         Sep 8 - Jan 11
SubCom F - Mu tual Aid                                           Sep 8 - Jan 11
SubCom A - Div & Hiring                                                                    Dec 7 - Mar 1
SubCom B - Training & Dev                                                                 Dec 7 - Mar 1
SubCom E - Budget, Roles & Equip                                                                                         Feb 15 - May 10
SubCom G - Advocacy                                                                                             Feb 15 - May 10
Note: Due to anticipated variances in the complexity of certain issues, subcommittees have varying numbers of meetings. All timelines/dates are tentative. Subcommittees are
activated at their allotted start time, but may be disbanded before or after the estimated dates depending on necessity.

Policing Assessment
Initial Areas of Focus

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Use of Force
The department has approximately 30 uses of force annually.
Most involved weaponless force techniques, such as physical take downs, punches and knee strikes.
Between 2017-2019, there were seven Taser deployments, no 40mm less lethal launcher deployments, one use of a
baton, and one use of OC spray.
Additionally, there was one officer-involved shooting while the officer was assigned to Valley SWAT for an Auburn, WA
call-out.
By far, pointing of a firearm and application of leg restraints were the most frequent force events, accounting for between
6 to 11 of the approximately 30 annual use of force events.
The Vascular Neck restraint was introduced to the department in 2018, and two applications occurred in 2018 and seven
applications in 2019. During these applications four subjects lost consciousness. This technique is now prohibited.
Use of Force Incidents by Race of Suspect:
Suspect Race          2017                 2018                 2019
White              51%                52%                60%
Black                 44%                  42%                  30%
Other               5%                  6%                  10%


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Use of Force Initial Impressions*
The POSPD needs a clear policy that mandates de-escalation, in order to hold
officers accountable who do not de-escalate when they should, or whose actions
might affirmatively escalate a situation.
Police policies should more clearly indicate a commitment to valuing and upholding
the sanctity of human life, and the connection of those values with its Use of Force
policy.
The use of force policy should require "reasonable, necessary, and proportional
force."
The use of force policy should require a warning, when feasible, before using lethal
force.
*Some of these items are already being addressed.
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Oversight, Accountability, Equity
& Civil Rights
Oversight & Accountability
There were an average of 31 inquires and complaints per year, for the years 2015 -
2019.
Over two thirds of those 31 concerns involved "inquiries," which are allegations that,
even if true, would not involve a violation of policy.
Racial Equity & Civil Rights
This subcommittee will also be responsible for helping the Task Force develop a
framework for racial equity in Port policing that will be applied to all anaylsis in the
various subcommittees.

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Oversight, Accountability, Equity & Civil Rights
Initial Impressions
The complaint classification scheme is unnecessarily technical, terms used are not
consistently well defined, and the assignment system does not serve quality control
goals.
Timelines should be set for individual steps throughout the investigation process.
The Standards of Conduct incorporated into POSPD policy are disorganized and
confusing, and are not placed into context with the Port's Code of Conduct.
There is no clear protocol for handling conflict of interest issues that can occur with
misconduct complaint processing.

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Mutual Aid
Mutual aid generally refers to agreements under state law (the Washington Mutual Aid
Peace Officers Powers Act and the Interlocal Cooperation Act)  broadly, any cooperation
with other law enforcement agencies.
Port Police have multiple agreements in place with other South King County cities:
Interlocal Cooperative Agreement Valley Special Response Team; Valley Independent Investigative Team;
Valley Civil Disturbance Unit
Purposes range from responding to high-risk incidents such as hostage situations and high risk felony
arrests to investigating most serious incidents involving other jurisdictions' police officers.
POSPD also has other, ad hoc relationships with neighboring jurisdictions


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Mutual Aid Initial Impressions
It is not clear how broadly the term "mutual aid" is used by POSPD in its policies and
enforcement practices.
When the POSPD engages in mutual aid involving noticed events, at the Port or in
other jurisdictions, incident planning documents and after-action reports should
provide perspective in assessing these events.
Mutual aid agreements should clearly indicate that POSPD officers are bound by
POSPD Policies.
Mutual aid agreements and requests should address limitations on less-lethal tools
or other use of force tactics other jurisdictions can employ when working with the
Port in response to a Port request for aid.

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