United States of America v. City of Seattle

Filing 413

ORDER REGARDING ACCOUNTABILITY ORDINANCE by Judge James L. Robart. (PM)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff,

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v.
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ORDER REGARDING
ACCOUNTABILITY
ORDINANCE

CITY OF SEATTLE,
Defendant.

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CASE NO. C12-1282JLR

Before the court are (1) the City of Seattle’s (“the City”) July 28, 2017, letter

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(Letter (Dkt. # 408)) and (2) its supplemental brief concerning the Seattle Police

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Department (“SPD”) accountability ordinance (“Ordinance”) (Supp. Br. (Dkt. # 412)). In

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its letter, the City requests that the court give expedited review to two portions of the

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Ordinance governing the selection and appointment of the Director of the Office of

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Police Accountability (“OPA”) and the Inspector General for Public Safety (“IG”).

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(Letter at 1; see Ordinance (Dkt. # 396-1) at 24 (§ 3.29.115(A)-(B)), 48 (§ 3.29.230(A)-

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(B)).) In its supplemental brief, the City renews its broader request for a ruling “that the

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Ordinance, as enacted, is consistent with the Consent Decree, that the City may continue

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to implement the Ordinance, including meeting its bargaining obligations, and that the

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City must return to the Court for review of any changes to the provisions of the

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Ordinance and their impact on the accountability system as a whole” following the

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collective bargaining process. (Supp. Br. at 9-10.) Plaintiff United States of America

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(“the Government”) does not oppose either request. (See Letter at 1 (“The [Government]

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has consented to this request.”); see also Br. on Account. Ordinance (Dkt. # 396) at 25.)

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At the hearing, the court expressed concern that the collective bargaining process

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was essentially a “black hole” whose impact on the Ordinance and the SPD

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accountability system could not be predicted. (See July 18, 2017, Status Conf. Transcript

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(“Tr.”) (Dkt. # 407) at 21-22.) In order to reassure the court concerning the collective

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bargaining process, the City agreed to provide: (1) a list of the Ordinance’s provisions

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that the City intends to submit to collective bargaining prior to implementation (Dkt.

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# 412-1), and (2) a list of the Ordinance’s provisions that are unchanged from the draft

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legislation, previously reviewed and approved by the court, and that do not require

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collective bargaining (Dkt. # 412-2). (See Tr. at 13; Letter at 1.) The court has reviewed

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those lists but is not reassured. In particular, despite the lists, the City acknowledges that

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“no provision of the Ordinance is categorically exempt from bargaining” and the relevant

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unions may disagree with the City’s assessment concerning which provisions of the

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Ordinance are subject to collective bargaining. (Letter at 2; Supp. Br. at 4 (noting that

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the City’s assessments as to which provisions of the Ordinance are mandatory subjects of

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collective bargaining “are subject to disputes by the unions impacted by the Ordinance,

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disputes that will be addressed in the first instance in forums other than this Court.”).)

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For the same reasons expressed at the July 18, 2017, status conference, the court

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declines to rule on the entirety of the Ordinance as it relates to the SPD accountability

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system at this time. (See Tr. at 8-9, 21-22.) Until the collective bargaining process is

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complete, the court cannot be assured that the Ordinance, as it stands today, is a final

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product. The court declines to rule on a variant of the Ordinance, but will await the final

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version that is ultimately implemented following collective bargaining.

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In withholding its approval, the court is not suggesting that the City should not

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implement those portions of the Ordinance that the City understood would take effect 30

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days after the Mayor signed the Ordinance (see Supp. Br. at 3), or that the City should

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refrain from entering into collective bargaining concerning those aspects of the

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Ordinance that require it (see id. at 9 (suggesting that court approval is necessary for the

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City to engage in collective bargaining over the Ordinance)). The court simply declines

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to place its final imprimatur on what is essentially a work-in-progress. The court

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cautions the parties who either are or will be engaged in collective bargaining over

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provisions of the Ordinance that the United States Constitution and the right of the City’s

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citizens to have constitutional policing ultimately trumps all other concerns at issue here.

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The court, however, is not without some flexibility in providing the parties with

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guidance. In its July 28, 2017, letter, the City asks more narrowly for the court to

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provisionally approve just two portions of the Ordinance related to the selection and

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appointment of the OPA Director and the IG. (See Letter at 1 (citing §§ 3.29.115(A)-(B),

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3.29.230(A)-(B)).) The City states that the OPA Director and IG “are vital to the City’s

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implementation of the remainder of the Ordinance, and the national selection process for

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each position will take months.” (Id.) The court does not wish to impede those selection

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processes. Thus, to the extent that the City believes the court’s approval is necessary

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before it can engage in those selection processes, the court grants that approval. Indeed,

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the court is willing to review other specific provisions of the Ordinance in the future

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should the parties believe such review is necessary to keep the reform process moving

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forward. The court’s approval of sections 3.29.115(A)-(B) and 3.29.230(A)-(B)) of the

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Ordinance, however, is conditional. If these provisions change in any way, as a result of

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the collective bargaining process or otherwise, the parties must so inform the court and

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resubmit the provisions to the court for further review.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated this 7th day of September, 2017.

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A

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JAMES L. ROBART
United States District Judge

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