Item No. 11b_supp
Meeting Date: September 14, 2021
Commission Task Force on
Policing and Civil Rights
Final Report
September 14, 2021

1

BACKGROUND, GOALS &
PROCESS

2

Commission Motion 2020-15
Directed a comprehensive assessment of the Port of Seattle Police
Department
Established a Commission Task Force on Port Policing and Civil Rights to
lead the assessment and develop recommendations for action
Nine Areas for Assessment:
1.  Diversity in Recruitment and Hiring    6.  Police Union Participation
2.  Training and Development             7.  Mutual Aid
3.  Equity                                  8.  Advocacy
4.  Use of Force                            9.  Budget, Roles, and Equipment
5.  Oversight and Accountability
3

Task Force Work & Goals
Engaged over 50 internal and external stakeholders in Task Force,
subcommittees; conducted a POSPD employee survey & interviews
Most of the recommendations are the direct result of stakeholder
engagement
Task Force worked not only to identify areas for improvement, but also
serve as an example of how to productively engage in a thorough review
of police practices, protocols and internal processes.
Goal was to help POSPD achieve the highest nationwide standards for
public safety, protection of civil rights, equity, accountability and
oversight.
4

Key Next Steps
Finish gathering/incorporating feedback from stakeholders on the final report to
ensure transparency/alignment with Task Force contributions.
Co-chairs will provide an addendum of additional suggestions not incorporated
into final report based on stakeholder feedback.
Advance the Port's Implementation Plan, which will prioritize recommendations and
provide proposed timelines, budget and other details.
ED and Task Force Co-chairs will present that plan to Commissioners at a future
meeting; potential for Commission Order codifying the plan at that time
POSPD is already working to incorporate substantive changes required through
legislation passed during the Washington State Legislature's 2021 session

5

Policing Assessment
Findings

6

POSPD Has Strong Foundation For Success
Clear commitment to mission and goals
Good policies and procedures
Robust training program
Use of force is infrequent and, with few exceptions, reasonable, necessary,
and proportional.
Few POSPD misconduct complaints; all investigated in a timely and objective
manner.
Forward thinking leadership

7

Opportunities For Improvement Exist
More than 50 recommendations based on the work of the subcommittees as
well as additional engagement efforts
Focus on three priority areas:
How increased organizational transparency can improve external perceptions about the
POSPD;
Supporting the POSPD's move away from a traditional police response on homelessness
on Port property; and
The need for the POSPD to focus on internal procedural justice to address a perception
of inequity experienced by many, but particularly Non-White employees.
Over 25% of recommendations focus on increasing equity through internal
procedural justice trainings and processes.
8

Select Recommendations Include:
Use of Force
De-escalation policy should be updated to make de-escalation attempts
mandatory, when possible, and to add de-escalation tactics
Create a standing use of force review committee
Oversight & Accountability
Create a quarterly public safety committee to bring interested stakeholders
together
Enhance internal procedural justice at the POSPD
Develop protocols between POSPD, Customer Services, and Human
Resources on the handling of complaints and compliments about police
officers
9

Select Recommendations, Con't.
Mutual Aid
Take the lead on updating current mutual aid agreements
Add levels of approval required before deploying resources for mutual aid
Budget, Roles and Equipment
Develop first responder alternatives to homelessness that do not involve armed POSPD
officers
Implement recommended policies to guide the use of body-worn cameras
Advocacy
Incorporate new legislative requirements into policy and training
Continue to engage with key stakeholders and elected officials on emerging state and
federal legislation.

10

Select Recommendations, Con't.
Diversity in Recruitment & Hiring
Develop a police officer recruitment plan aimed at increasing the number of
Hispanic/Latinx police officers
Update race/ethnic identification data for employees, benchmarks to use for
assessing availability and utilization, and consolidate data sources
Training & Development
Increase transparency around promotional and special team processes
Commence a campaign of internal procedural justice training; continue to
train de-escalation as a core engagement philosophy; continue to stress a
"guardian mentality" in trainings
11

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

12

Questions?


13

APPENDIX

14

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

15

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

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

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

18

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

19

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.