Seattle police should welcome federal civil-rights probe

A FEDERAL civil-rights investigation of the Seattle Police Department is nothing to fear.

The request by the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington and 34 other groups to the Justice Department reflects a community's concern about recent incidents involving the use of force by Seattle police. These encounters disproportionately involved minorities.

The extra layer of scrutiny is welcome. It should not be taken as advance condemnation of our police force. But enough incidents have taken place to warrant tough questions.

In its six-page request, the ACLU said "four different police auditors for Seattle have noted that simple jaywalking stops too often result in physical confrontations between police and citizens."

If Justice's civil-rights division agrees to investigate, it elevates federal oversight from the "close scrutiny" promised by U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan to a formal analysis of patterns and practices in our city's department.

Scrutiny is always a good thing. It helps maintain public confidence. A crucial ingredient of effective law enforcement is willful compliance by a trusting public.

If there are problems, they must be fixed. The ACLU raises the kinds of questions that can help determine whether training and other challenges faced by the department are widespread or narrowed to a few bad actors.

For example, in some of the most egregious cases, why did police initiate or escalate the confrontations, what made officers perceive a threat and is there any evidence that use of force was carried out differently when police were dealing with persons of color?

Some important questions go to the heart of police training, including understanding why officers choose in some cases not to use de-escalation tactics. Other questions seek to learn whether officers are willing to promptly report concerns about their colleagues' use of excessive force or contradict erroneous statements by officers at the scene of incidents.

All of these are fair questions for Police Chief John Diaz and his department.