Appropriate federal probes of the Seattle Police Department

SEATTLE Police Chief John Diaz might have been trying to cast an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice in a favorable light when he said he welcomed the "free audit."

Diaz knows the Justice probe is significant. It is acknowledgment that after a preliminary review begun several months ago there are indeed credible concerns about unnecessary use of force and police interaction with minority citizens.

Public trust in the department has been shaken by a spate of incidents involving excessive use of force: an officer using a racial slur and threatening to beat a robbery suspect who, it turns out was not the suspect; the shooting of First Nations woodcarver John T. Williams by Seattle police Officer Ian Birk, who later resigned.

Questions about these incidents and others were raised in a December call for a federal probe by the ACLU and echoed by dozens of community organizations. Illumination about department practices and training will culminate with a goal to determine whether there are systemic violations of the Constitution or federal law.

A separate probe will focus on whether Williams' civil rights were violated. Prosecutors decided they do not have enough evidence to charge the officer in Williams' death. State law gives latitude to police officers who use deadly force, in recognition that they're often making split-second decisions. Federal prosecutors would face no less a burden trying to prosecute Birk.

Both reviews will add transparency. That is critical to providing credible reassurances to a community rightly worried about whether its police department has a serious training issue or a problem involving discriminatory policing.

The police department has taken some solid steps. Diaz has publicly placed community building on par with crime fighting. A systemic survey of neighborhood law enforcement and safety needs is expected to better inform policing.

Diaz understands what is at stake. Speaking to The Times editorial board, he noted that a year ago, the shooting deaths of a Seattle police officer and four officers of the Lakewood Police Department engendered tremendous sympathy regionwide. The department's public missteps eroded that support, he says.

Diaz has asked Justice officials to report violations during the review, rather than at the end, so the chief can quickly address problems. That would be helpful. The police department will benefit from federal review.