Durkan urges Seattle City Council to lift hiring restrictions on police amid wave of shootings

Alec Regimbal, Seattle PI

July 30, 2021Updated July 30, 2021 3:07 p.m.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan speaks at a press conference after Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best announced her resignation at Seattle City Hall on August 11, 2020 in Seattle, Washington.

Karen Ducey / Getty Images

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan is asking the city council to lift the $ 7.5 million restrictions it has placed on the Seattle Police Department budget in hopes the department can resolve its current hiring crisis.

In addition to lifting the restriction, the ordinance Durkan sent to the council on Thursday would restore the hiring bonuses – $ 15,000 for transfers and $ 7,500 for new recruits – that the council lifted last year.

After a summer of stormy protests against the assassination of George Floyd, the council cut the department’s budget by nearly 20% and cut tens of millions of overtime, salaries and other positions. These cuts came amid an exodus of police officers. According to a recent report by the mayor’s office, the department has lost 286 sworn officers since June last year.

Durkan hopes the regulation will allow the department to recruit enough civil servants to meet its 2021 recruitment goals.

“We don’t have to rehash last year’s budget debates on defunding, cuts and layoffs due to absenteeism,” she said in a press release on the regulation. “But Chief Diaz must act to address the current recruitment and staffing issues as we continue to advance alternatives that are critical to reshaping policing.”

Data on gunfire fired shows an increase in incidents in 2021.

King County Attorney’s Office

In addition to the urgency, armed violence is increasing in the region. According to data from the district’s prosecutor’s office, 196 people were shot dead and 42 of them died from their injuries in the first six months of this year. The number of deaths represents an increase of 48% from the average for the same six months from 2017 to 2020, and the total number of victims of shootings represents an increase of 61% from the average.

In the past week alone, 13 people were shot dead in Seattle and five of them died from their injuries, according to police. Twelve of the 13 people were shot between Friday night and Monday morning. The last shooting occurred on Thursday afternoon when police reported that a 21-year-old man was shot in the upper body near Ella Bailey Park in Magnolia.

Shortly before 2 p.m. the SPD received a report of gunfire in Block 2600 on W Smith Street. Officers could not find anyone at the scene, but about 10 minutes later a man with a gunshot wound arrived at a nearby hospital. More details as soon as they become available.

– Seattle Police Dept. (@SeattlePD) July 29, 2021

The recent wave of shootings has led the community to refocus on the staffing issues facing the Seattle Police Department. A day after Durkan sent the ordinance to the council, an association representing local food and convenience stores said its members fear for themselves and their customers.

Tammie Hetrick, president of the Washington Food Industry Association, said the city’s policy choices had directly resulted in fewer police officers and longer emergency response times.

“Simply put, we need the city council to work with the Seattle Police Department to increase staffing levels to meet basic levels of public safety,” Hetrick said in a press release Friday. “Measures need to be taken to increase the number of police officers who can respond to calls in a timely manner. Current response times are simply unacceptable. When you call 9-1-1, expect a timely response.”

Ty Kwon, who manages Belltown Market, told KING 5 that he made hundreds of calls to the police but said the officers either didn’t show up or were late.

“I’m 53 years old and I have to fight harder now than I did in high school,” he said. “It’s crazy.”