April 27, 2006

Short Takes

Don’t Rain on Their Parade

When a group of protesters marching against police brutality was told by police its small size warranted a move from the streets to the sidewalk, the group sued. Now the city has agreed to pay out of court.

Seattle has to shell out $47,500 to the October 22 Coalition to Stop Police Brutality, Repression, and the Criminalization of a Generation, as part of a settlement agreement reached by both parties. The initiatory lawsuit, filed by the ACLU, took the City to task for the actions of officers who rescinded the group’s parade permit right before the march was to have taken place.

The event went down, not surprisingly, on Oct. 22, in 2003, when approximately 80-100 people met at Seattle Central Community College. With its legally obtained parade permit, the group was to make use of city streets on its way to Hing Hay Park, where a rally was scheduled to occur. But just as marchers were set to push off, a Seattle police officer informed the group that, because there weren’t enough people, the permit had been rescinded. As a result, the officer continued, city streets couldn’t be used: only sidewalks. With marchers relegated to the sidewalk, the police followed, occupying a lane of traffic the group was banned from using. The October 22 Coalition decided to sue on grounds that the city’s parade ordinance is unconstitutionally vague.

When the case reached U.S. District Court last month, Judge Robert Lasnik disagreed, ruling the city’s ordinance was constitutional and provided adequate guidance to the police chief in deciding on the issuance of permits. Judge Lasnik, however, also ruled that the ACLU had raised sufficient questions to warrant a trial about whether October 22 Coalition’s parade was forced off the streets because police didn’t like the group’s message. The group plans to appeal the judge’s first ruling regarding the constitutionality of city parade permits.

“ Currently, there is nothing to compel police in Seattle to obey their own laws,” says October 22 Coalition member Dan DiLeva. “To the extent a lawsuit can help change that, we’ll continue with it.”

— Rosette Royale

Justice: Don’t Bargain it Away

The city’s union contract with the Seattle Police Officers Guild expires at the end of the year, and the two sides will sit down for labor negotiations as early as May. A public hearing last week by councilmember Nick Licata provided a historic chance for citizens to help set the agenda for the talks, which are closed to the public.

The guild’s contract sets forth how allegations of misconduct are handled. In practice, it’s hobbled citizen oversight of the already-biased internal investigations, say police watchdogs.

Attorney Lisa Daugaard told councilmembers that the city needs a better process for reviewing misconduct — but not as a product of the guild negotiations, in which police representatives will fend off any proposal that could sacrifice officers’ welfare for the civilians’ right to know.

One councilmember “said that the question is ‘What must be bargained,’” Daugaard told the assembled crowd; in fact, she said, “the question is, what must not be bargained. The city must not put any accountability measures on the table that do not bear on discipline or working conditions.

Specifically, an independent commission with the power to investigate police actions and verify the truth of a complainant’s testimony would be a powerful vindication of a civilian’s experience. It wouldn’t have to result in an officer being disciplined in any way.

— Adam Hyla