Public Safety Committee reviews bill to revise complaint investigations naming Seattle police chief

The Seattle City Council Public Safety Committee on May 13 heard a presentation on Council Bill 120977, legislation that would revise the process for handling complaints that name the chief of the Seattle Police Department. Karina Bull, council central staff, told the committee the bill would allow the Office of Police Accountability (OPA), with agreement from the Office of Inspector General for Public Safety (OIG), to close qualifying complaints as a contact log after an initial screening; allow qualified non-supervisory civilian staff to perform intake work; permit OIG to initiate new investigations that arise while it is managing an existing investigation; and require OIG to provide more frequent reporting on complaint counts and status.

Why it matters: The three-part oversight system created by the 2017 accountability ordinance and refined by a 2022 ordinance left a…