Speaker 3: Agenda Item eight Council Bill 118761. An Ordinance relating to a Public Safety Bill of Rights for the Seattle public. Remembering Subchapter Six as Subchapter Five and creating a new subchapter six. In Chapter 3.28 of the Seattle Municipal Code, the committee recommends a bill passed as amended.
Speaker 0: Thank you, Councilmember Herbal.
Speaker 3: Thank you. The Observer Bill of Rights passed out of Committee four zero week before last, and I introduced it. We heard it first, last in August, and there was a lot of work that needed to be done between our first hearing of the bill and our committee vote a week before last. But in a nutshell, the bill was introduced in recognition that observation of police activity has always been an important element of police accountability. Here in Seattle, Mothers for Account Mothers for Accountability has for decades trained community observers to watch the actions of police in detaining suspects. The majority of police interactions with the public are fair and professional, but the observation of police actions is just one way to reduce the chances that people are treated unfairly in their interactions with police. And, you know, when people are not treated fairly or force is used inappropriately, observation ensures that there's a witness today. Actual recording of observed police activity is an element of accountability that is growing in importance. The bill itself would establish that by law, the public has the right to observe police activity consistent with existing police department policy. It states that officers may not use physical force to punish or retaliate against observers and must seek to minimize harm to bystanders when using less lethal tools like pepper spray or tear gas. In addition, if a person brings a claim the law was violated, the Office of Professional Accountability must be notified. Across the country, recordings of police activity by the police have increased the public's ability to hold police accountable. However, sometimes this has led to arrests, which have in turn have generated First Amendment legal challenges to these arrests. Here in Seattle, the auditor in 2008 reviewed police incidents where people were arrested and charged with obstruction only and without any other charge. Resulting one third of the cases involved arrests of bystanders, and over half of these were African-American. That that study in 2008 was when I first became interested in this issue subsequently two that the Washington State Supreme Court recognized the First Amendment right of the public to observe and criticize law enforcement in the case of the state of Washington versus E.J. in Seattle. In the case Seattle officers had responded to a call about a fight between the complainant, sister and mother. There was a heated verbal exchange between the officers, and.
Speaker 6: E.J. refused to leave the.
Speaker 3: Open doorway of the house and closed the door because he was observing the interaction. He was a 17 year old black man. He was arrested for obstructing a law enforcement officer. Laws like this have been passed in other states, including California, Oregon and Colorado. And at a time when we have an increasing reliance on cameras that police officers wear or have in their cars, I believe we need to remind the public that the police activity that they observe is still important. A Washington Post article from March noted that in a shooting of an A in a shooting in Albuquerque, there were seven body cameras present. The camera of the police officer who fired the shot. Was it recording three missed the crucial moment and three were either blurred or contained. No record. So in this time of moving towards more reliance on police worn cameras, I think the public statement that the the observations of members of the public in the recordings of the members of public are not only important to police accountability, but the rights of individuals engaging in in that activity will be observed.
Speaker 1: By the city of Seattle.
Speaker 0: Thank you. Questions or comments? Please call the role on the passage of the bill.
Speaker 1: Gonzales. I. Herbold, i. JOHNSON Whereas I. O'BRIEN Hi, Sergeant Bagshaw. BURGESS Hi, Aiden.
Speaker 0: Favorite unopposed bill passes and the chair will sign it. We'll now return to agenda item number one from committee resolution.
Speaker 4: Okay.
Speaker 0: The report of the Affordable Housing Neighborhoods in Finance Committee. Please read item number one short title through the first semicolon.
Speaker 3: The Report of the Affordable Housing Neighborhoods and Finance Committee Agenda Item one Council Bill 118972 An ordinance relating to city employment, commonly referred to as the first quarter 2017 Employment Ordinance. The committee recommends the bill pass.
AN ORDINANCE relating to a public safety bill of rights for the Seattle public; renumbering Subchapter VI as Subchapter V and creating a new Subchapter VI in Chapter 3.28 of the Seattle Municipal Code.