Bias free policing is on its way to Seattle? Really? In yet again another Seattle City Council first, something that should go without saying – and is actually a policy that is already ‘in the books’ – has been codified into law; on Monday our ever illustrious stumbling, bumbling City Council codified ‘bias-free policing’. Duh … prior to this the City accepted and condoned bias policing? We actually needed to codify a law saying it isn’t ok?
In all reality, as of January 2015, city anti-bias policing policies were already in place. This is so because since that time the City of Seattle and the US Justice Department – under the terms of a 2012 federal consent decree – required the Seattle Police Department to address issues of excessive force and discriminatory policing practices.
The intent of the codification is obviously to reiterate that the City of Seattle is committed to ensuring Seattle police officers conduct themselves in a constitutional manner, and that they police without bias – as if that needed to be stated or unilaterally codified into our city books – again. It is certainly good to see our City Council is keeping itself busy, but it sure would be nice to see actions that really have an actual impact, not simply a happy to glad form over substance result.
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