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Seattle Council Approves Police Labor Deals After Heated Public Comment
Summary
After more than an hour of public testimony denouncing police violence and demanding stronger civilian oversight, the Seattle City Council approved a management contract for lieutenants and captains and a disputed officers’ contract that critics say weakens accountability. The SPMA measure passed unanimously; the SPOG contract passed 6–3.
Seattle’s City Council on Dec. 9 approved two police labor agreements — a collective bargaining deal for lieutenants and captains and a separate contract for rank-and-file officers — after extended public comment and a contentious floor debate over accountability and subpoena powers.
The council passed the Seattle Police Management Association (SPMA) agreement by a 9–0 roll call after committee sponsors presented the contract as aligned with the city’s 2017 accountability ordinance. Clerk read council bill 121,132, which the council adopted to cover lieutenants and captains through Dec. 31, 2027.
Opposition focused primarily on the Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG) contract, which the council approved on a later roll call by 6 votes to 3. Critics, including dozens of public commenters, said the SPOG deal does not give civilian oversight bodies adequate subpoena authority and preserves disciplinary protections that impede…
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