Council members draft police-discipline proposals

Three Seattle City Council members plan to introduce legislation that would require the police chief to explain — in writing — his reasons for overturning discipline findings made by the civilian director of the department's Office of Professional Accountability.

Council President Nick Licata — along with council members David Della and Richard McIver — plan to hold a news conference at City Hall this morning to unveil their proposed ordinance. The legislation also would require the chief to provide written explanations in cases where officers are not disciplined because a 180-day deadline has run out on misconduct investigations.

Licata said Tuesday he also expects to introduce a second ordinance that would separate the Office of Professional Accountability (OPA) director's budget from the rest of the police department when the council begins its budget deliberations next month.

Though Licata said the proposed legislation is meant to improve public trust in the police department, a spokesman for Mayor Greg Nickels said an 11-member panel appointed by the mayor in June to review the workings of the OPA should be allowed to finish its job.

The panel, which includes former Gov. Gary Locke, former U.S. Attorney Mike McKay and former King County Superior Court Judge Terrence Carroll, is expected to deliver its recommendations in November.

"I think the panel really needs an opportunity to do its work," said Nickels' spokesman Marty McOmber, adding that the mayor will base his decisions on the panel's recommendations.

The panel was formed to review and suggest improvements for Seattle's police accountability system after the media reported on two misconduct investigations earlier this year.

After controversy arose in one case over the videotaped arrest of a known drug dealer, charges against the suspect were dropped and the credibility of two officers was questioned because of discrepancies between the video and their police report.

In a 2005 incident, Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske exonerated two officers involved in the arrest and beating of a Capitol Hill bar patron, even though OPA officials recommended they be punished. A sergeant who was considered largely responsible for the incident did not face any discipline because a 180-day contractual deadline for officer punishment had expired.

Kerlikowske declined to comment Tuesday on the proposed legislation. The chief, who makes final decisions on discipline, is not currently required to explain his reasons for overruling an OPA finding, such as changing a "sustained" finding of misconduct to "unsustained" or "exonerated."

Rich O'Neill, the president of the Seattle Police Officers' Guild, which represents roughly 1,100 officers, detectives and sergeants, accused the three council members of trying to make "a political power grab." If the ordinance becomes law, O'Neill said, the guild will file an unfair labor practice complaint with the state's Public Employment Relations Commission, arguing that any change to the way OPA operates is subject to collective bargaining.

"It's appalling of them to try and politically upstage the panel," O'Neill said.

But Licata said requiring the chief to provide written explanations is not something the city has to negotiate with the guild.

"A number of people on the panel have already expressed support for this measure," Licata said. "... This is a policy we believe we need to go forward on."

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