Item No. 11a_supp
Meeting Date: April 27, 2020
Commission Task Force on
Policing and Civil Rights
Progress Update
April 27, 2021

1

BACKGROUND

2

Areas for Assessment
1. Diversity in Recruitment and Hiring      Subcommittees
2. Training and Development               currently meeting
3. Equity
4. Use of Force
5. Oversight and Accountability             Subcommittee work
completed
6. Police Union Participation
7. Mutual Aid
8. Advocacy                                  Subcommittees will
9. Budget, Roles, and Equipment            be convened next
month

3

Engagement Activities
Outreach to Community Groups                    POSPD Survey / Engagement
Shilshole Bay Marina residents and Dock Captains                  111 surveys received out of
Duwamish Valley Stakeholders                                  approximately 151 employees
Harbor Island Stakeholders
Drayage Truck Companies and Drivers                            Remote listening sessions for
officers, sergeants,
Aviation Community Stakeholders
commanders, and non-
Airport Customer Service/Pathfinders                             commissioned employees.
Homelessness advocates/service providers
City of Sea-Tac government

4

Identified Processes That Support Equity Goals
De-escalation
Procedural Justice
Recognition of the sanctity of human life
Accountability system that provides checks and balances
Acknowledge value of continuous improvement

5

Policing Assessment
Current Insights

6

Use of Force Insights
Subcommittee focused on high-level values as well as technical changes to the policies and practices:
Having the Mission and Vision Statements in the policy manual more clearly express:
Commitment to the sanctity of human life
Department's values of equity and fairness
Commitment to de-escalation and achieving the best possible outcome for all involved.
Reviewed technical changes to strengthen the new de-escalation policy:
Clarifying the policy on providing medical treatment
Updating the reporting and review requirements
Use of Force incidents average approximately 30 per year (32 incidents in 2020) :
Suspect Race     2017             2018             2019             2020
White          51%            52%            60%            31%
Black            44%             42%             30%             28%
Other           5%             6%             10%            3%
Unknown      0%           0%           0%           38%*
*12 incidents in 2020 were in a crowd control context in which the identities of the individuals were not available

7

Oversight, Accountability, Equity & Civil Rights Insights
Technical changes can be made to improve transparency and accountability for external
complainants
Need for clarification of protocols between POSPD, HR and Workplace Responsibility for
EEO concerns
Differing viewpoints regarding the proper balance between the Port-wide consistency
provided by mandatory HR review of written reprimands and higher level of discipline,
vs. the supervising Sergeant's authority to document performance issues
Police Civil Service Commission is authorized to review a suspension of 5 or more days,
demotions, and discharges, but only 1 appeal to PCSC in 12 years; instead, discipline
appeals pursued through CBA grievance process.
8

Mutual Aid Insights
Subcommittee focused on updating interlocal agreements to ensure consistent
approaches to use of force, crowd management, and values
Need for the POSPD to formalize its processes for ensuring that decisions to engage
in mutual aid meets the POSPD and Port of Seattle values
Explored the role of POSPD in after-action review for all mutual aid engagements to
inform policy and training
Noted that the POSPD does not have its own Crowd Management policy for events
outside the mutual aid context

9

Diversity & Hiring
Reviewing POSPD recruitment and hiring processes, commissioned staff demographic data, utilization and availability data,
demographic data on the hiring process, and ways to consider and increase diversity
Of hires 2018 - 2020, 20% were entry level and 80% were lateral (total of 28 lateral hires)
Issues to consider
25% of POSPD employees do not identify race/ethnicity unless mandatory (backgrounding)
Gender identification options across the Port are binary
Need to address the training budget if training recommendations are adopted
Need to balance advantages of lateral hires with potential unintended consequences

CURRENT DEMOGRAPHICS FOR      Command, includes Sergeants (80% Male)          Patrol Officers (90% Male)
POSPD COMMISSIONED STAFF                                             Two or More
Two or more
races                   Did not                                                  races, 6%
Native                      Did not identify,
4%              identify
American, 1%                       24%
9%
Black
Hispanci/Latino,
8%
Native 1%
Asian                                                    Hawaiian/Pacific
8%                                        Islander, 2%
White                         Black, 3%
71%
White, 58%
Asian, 5%
10

Training & Development
To-date, has reviewed
POSPD five-year training plan
Anti-bias training curriculum
Patrol Officer Training program
Promotional processes
Noted that the POSPD's Patrol Officer Training program focuses on problembased
learning rather than just teaching competencies
Concern expressed that POSPD only has on-line anti-bias training and does not
have any training around "History of Policing"
Subcommittee will also look at by communications protocols, both external and
within the organization.
11

2021 State Legislative Session
Utilized the Task Force and "kitchen cabinet" of Port and external advisors to evaluate state
legislation
Focused on sharing insights with Legislature related to the Port's core policing principles and any
areas aligned with subcommittee recommendations
Key legislative changes:
Restricting the use of tear gas, choke holds, neck restraints and banning no-knock warrants.
Ensuring that police department arbitration procedures are not used to shield officers from
accountability if they violate department guidelines.
Authorizing the state auditor's office to review whether deadly force investigations followed
procedures.
Requiring reasonable care when officers use force, including using de-escalation techniques.
Mandating the collection of data on police uses of force so the state can better understand how
and when officers do so.
12

Questions?


13

APPENDIX

14

Commission Motion 2020-15
Adopted on July 14, 2020
Three directives:
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

15

Key Dates
By October 31, 2020  First Task Force Progress Report and recommendations for immediate
actions
Ongoing  As recommendations are developed, the Task Force Co-Chairs shall submit a report
to the Commission and Executive Director
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.

16

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
17

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  Consultant, Police Accountability
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

18

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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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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Phase 1                Phase 2             Phase 3
UPDATED (12.9.20) Policing Motion                          Subcommittees C,D,E,G   Subcommittees A,B  Subcommittees F,H
18 weeks               9 weeks            6 weeks
Subcommittee Meeting structure                               7-9 meets         3-5 meets       3-5 meets
Sept-Jan                 Feb-Apr             Apr-May
Phase 2 recommendations to
Commission
Apr 27
Phase 1 Recommendations                                   Phase 3 Recommendations
Task Force mtg                                        Task Force mtg              Task Force mtg                 Task Force mtg
Task Force mtg             Task Force mtg              Task Force mtg             Task Force mtg                Task Force mtg             Task Force mtg
CDF   CDF  CDF    CDF CDF    CDF            CDF  CDF CDF  AB    AB   AB   AB        EG   EG   EG   EG          FINAL RECS due to Commission
Task Force mtg
Sep       Oct        Nov       Dec       2021      Feb       Mar       Apr       May       Jun       Jul        Aug
Tod ay

SubCom C - Use -of-Force                                                   Sep 8 - Jan 29
SubCom D - Ov ersight, Accountability & Civil Rights                          Sep 8 - Jan 29
SubCom F - Mu tual Aid                                                  Sep 8 - Jan 29
SubCom A - Div & Hiring                                                                                  Feb 8 - Apr 2
SubCom B - Training & Dev                                                                               Feb 8 - Apr 2
SubCom E - Budget, Roles & Equip                                                                                                  Apr 19 - May 31
SubCom G - Advocacy                                                                                                      Apr 19 - May 31
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.

Use of Force Review
21CP requested and received all 90+ uses of force from 2018-2020 and has reviewed 50% of
those cases in depth.
POSPD engages in de-escalation most of the time by communicating, calling additional resources,
coordinating with medical services, and slowing the approach to suspects.
All but one case followed POSPD policy; most were reasonable, necessary, and proportional.
Four of the five cases that reviewers flagged as potentially not reasonable, necessary, and proportional were
Lateral Vascular Neck Restraint applications that while compliant with the previous policy, were not properly
considered under a deadly force standard. The elimination of this technique by the Resolution resolves this
issue.
Over 50% of the uses of force were in the context of trespassing people from the terminal.
Almost 50% of the subjects of force were identified as a person in crisis; over 10% involved people who
were later involuntarily committed.
POSPD reviews all uses of force through the Chief level, but reviewers noted that formalizing this process
would help ensure consistency of review.
PLACEHOLDER FOR RACIAL DISPARITY DATA

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