Seattle committee chair calls for limits on federal immigration enforcement, highlights SPD directive and technology safeguards
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Summary
Chair Robert Kettle urged the Department of Homeland Security to 'stand down' after recent incidents and described a Jan. 15 Seattle Police Department directive to keep local command and to 'engage, confirm, and document' interactions with federal agents; he also clarified Seattle does not use the 'Flock' system and gave usage figures for ALPR/CCTV.
Chair Robert Kettle opened the Jan. 27 Public Safety Committee by urging limits on federal immigration-related law enforcement operations and outlining a city approach for documenting federal activity.
"These DHS federal law enforcement operations are ill disciplined, not in keeping with established Department of Justice policy or guidance," Chair Kettle said, and added that recent events in Minneapolis demonstrated the need for local scrutiny. He pressed the Department of Homeland Security to "stand down at once" and said Seattle is seeking regional, state and federal partners to pursue reforms.
Kettle described a Seattle Police Department directive effective Jan. 15 that, in the event the federal government deploys National Guard or other federal agents, "SPD will not abdicate its responsibilities and [will] continue to serve and protect Seattle's communities under the command of the chief of police." He summarized the guidance to officers as three priorities: "engage, confirm, and document." "We need to document these encounters," he said.
The chair also addressed technology concerns. Kettle corrected reporting that Seattle used the private-company "Flock" system, stating plainly, "We do not have flock." He defended local safeguards for ALPR/CCTV access, saying that access is limited and that ALPR has supported missing-person and suicidal-subject responses: "since May it's been used 18 times" for missing-person calls and "on top of that 14 suicidal subject calls." He urged continued oversight while noting the tools have been used in public-safety responses.
Kettle said his office has been engaging with the city attorney and mayor's office about legal options and next steps. He told public commenters who alleged subpoenas for license-plate and CCTV data that "there's been no subpoenas to this point" to his knowledge and encouraged continued documentation and legal review.
No formal municipal action to restrict federal operations was adopted at the meeting. The committee moved from the chair's remarks into a public-comment period and then to a long King County prosecuting-attorney briefing on human trafficking.
