Church leaders and funeral directors were caught off guard when Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske abruptly withdrew his permission for motorcycle escorts during funeral processions, effectively ending the age-old tradition within city limits.

Word of the chief's refusal earlier this month to renew a permit for a company that provides funeral-escort services spread through the city's faith community, and the outcry has police officials reconsidering their stance.

No funeral processions are being held within city limits right now as a result of the chief's decision, said Michael Galaviz, a manager at Bonney Watson Funeral Home on Capitol Hill and the acting president of the King County Funeral Directors Association.

Kerlikowske was out of town yesterday, but Deputy Police Chief John Diaz said safety concerns motivated the chief's decision earlier this month. Two off-duty firefighters have been killed in recent years while working as funeral-procession escorts in South Seattle, he said.

Mike Coffey, 36, a captain with Eastside Fire and Rescue in Issaquah, was killed Aug. 9, 2002, when a car pulled in front of his motorcycle during a funeral procession. Richard Friedt, 57, a retired Seattle firefighter, was killed July 24, 2004, when a car in a funeral procession clipped his motorcycle, sending it crashing into oncoming traffic.

Many people who work as funeral escorts are off-duty police or firefighters.

Though safety remains an issue, Diaz said he will meet with clergy members and funeral-home operators next week. He said he is confident the parties will reach some kind of agreement.

"I know we come across looking like the bad guys, but we're looking for a safer way to get a funeral procession from Point A to Point B without getting somebody hurt or killed," Diaz said. "I think everybody is motivated to see things fixed, and I do believe we're going to be able to come up with some workable protocol."

Steve Bartel, owner of motorcycle-escort company Washington State Motorcade, said he understands and shares the chief's concerns for motorcycle escorts, but contended the escorts safeguard those riding in funeral processions, as well as other motorists.

Without an escort, vehicles involved in a procession are bound to get split up by traffic lights — and it's human nature for those drivers to want to catch up with the hearse, Bartel said.

"These people are grieving and they're not in a normal mind-set," he said. "Their concerns are not exactly 100 percent on their driving and where they're going. In a procession, all they have to do is follow the car in front of them and they get there safely."

The fact that police are now willing to talk to those affected by the chief's decision is a relief, but it would have been nice to have been consulted beforehand, said the Rev. Dr. Sanford Brown, executive director of the Church Council of Greater Seattle.

Kerlikowske "is very good at maintaining good public relations, but this one caught us all by surprise," Brown said. "I hope what this meeting means is that there will be a speedy resolution."

At least two companies in Seattle employ off-duty police officers and firefighters as well as other motorcycle riders to escort hearses and mourners' vehicles from churches to cemeteries. Bartel said that typically, one motorcycle is needed for every 10 vehicles in a procession; those who ride as escorts stop other motorists so that a long line of cars can stay together en route to a cemetery.

In an Aug. 2 letter to Bartel, Kerlikowske wrote that he would not renew the operator's permit to use "authorized emergency vehicles" — which are motorcycles that are privately owned by company employees and are equipped with red emergency lights. The chief ended his letter by writing, "we do not intend to sign or approve any of these types of permit applications for civilian vehicle escort services."

Diaz said the red lights, uniforms and vehicle markings similar to those used by police are also at issue.

"At times, [members of the public] may think they're police officers, but they're not," he said of the escorts.

The police department has received complaints about the driving of some motorcycle escorts, he said. Escorts often "end up leapfrogging to get to the next intersection and may be going into oncoming traffic or driving in the curb lane — which works well if everybody is paying attention," Diaz said.

"It's dangerous work," he said, adding that the department had already limited the number of motorcycle escorts its officers perform, either for visiting dignitaries or police funerals.

Under state law, operators such as Bartel are required to apply annually for a permit from the State Patrol authorizing them to use red emergency lights during funeral processions, said Christine Fox, manager of the State Patrol's equipment-and-standards review unit in Olympia.

Once a state permit has been received, operators must get permission from police chiefs or sheriffs in each jurisdiction where they want to provide escort services, she said.

"If local jurisdictions allow them to close intersections, great, but otherwise we don't necessarily give them authority to do that," Fox said.

Since Kerlikowske made the decision not to renew his permit, Bartel said, he has heard police chiefs in other jurisdictions may consider revoking their permission.

Brown, of the church council, pointed out that the tradition of accompanying someone to his or her final resting place dates to ancient times and that the procession of loved ones to a grave site is an integral part of the funeral ceremony. Church leaders want to make sure the public and everyone participating in a funeral procession is safe, but they also want to safeguard an important rite, he said.

"There's something that happens in a processional — it's a public thing and it's one of the few times in our society that there's a public recognition that somebody has died," Brown said.

Galaviz acknowledged that funeral processions can cause traffic delays. Though there have been incidents where other motorists have either cut into a procession or joined one in order to avoid stoplights, most people are respectful, he said.

The county funeral directors association has approximately 30 members and at least a dozen are in Seattle, Galaviz said.

"It was awkward to learn about this with so short notice. I had to go to families and tell them they couldn't have a procession," Galaviz said.

"We're hopeful the police chief will give us an opportunity to share our thoughts on the safety issue and the importance of the ritual and that we can come up with a plan to provide funeral processions in the future."

Sara Jean Green: 206-515-5654 or sgreen@seattletimes.com