Seattle Police Chief Responds To 50 Percent Defunding Proposal

SEATTLE, WA — Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best sent a letter to Mayor Jenny Durkan Friday, providing her assessment of anticipated impacts if the city moves to cut her department's budget in half.

Three more councilmembers joined four of their colleagues Thursday in voicing public support for defunding the police department by 50 percent, redirecting money to community-led public safety and housing programs. A veto-proof majority requires just six votes in favor.

In the letter, Best criticized the council, saying members have failed to adequately engage the department during recent budget discussions. The City Council began a budget inquest into the police department's spending in early June, as the city looks to rebalance the 2020 budget amid a steep decline in revenue and millions in added spending related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

"These 2020 cut scenarios by the Council are political gestures, however, not realistic or rational solutions," Best wrote. "If we are asked to cut 50% of our department overnight, we will be forced into decisions that do not serve our shared long-term goal of re-envisioning community safety."

The police chief says added cuts between $50 million and $80 million this year, in addition to the $20 million pitched by the mayor, would effectively cut the department's fourth-quarter budget by 100 percent.

"The only way we can achieve that level of cut within the last four months of the year is to terminate or transfer approximately 1,100 employees — or over 50 percent of our total workforce," Best wrote. "This would leave us with about 630 deployable sworn members in the department."

According to the police chief, labor rules in the existing contract would see the newest officers terminated first, which is a more "broadly diverse" group than senior staff. Best says the department would need to take "drastic action" to maintain patrol and would likely close the Southwest Precinct, redistributing 100 sworn employees to the remaining four precincts. Patrol operations would shift focus solely to 911 response.

Another area of impact, Best says, is among the 215 members of the Criminal Investigation Bureau. The homicide and violent crime unit and the sexual assault and sex offenders unit would be halved under the chief's assessment. Many others would cease functioning, shifting responsibilities to patrol officers or federal and regional partners, including:

• Auto Theft Investigations
• Burglary/Theft
• Domestic Violence/Elder Abuse/Family Services
• Fraud / Forgery
• Gang Unit
• High Risk Victims/Internet Crimes Against Children
• Narcotics
• Vice

Best says three other units could not be maintained at any level:

• Harbor Unit
• Traffic Unit
• SWAT Team

Budget discussions continue at the Seattle City Council on Wednesdays, and no legislation on police cuts has been finalized or voted on.

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