Seattle City Workers Demand Change from Our Leaders

BLACK LIVES MATTER.

We encourage you to do more than just nod your head sadly at that statement of fact. You are in charge of the systems that are harming our city. You have the power to change those systems. YOU have the power of US, civil servants who come to work and strive every day to make Seattle a better place to live for everyone.

Stop pretending SPD is doing a great job. We have seen the videos. Some of us breathed in the tear gas and pepper spray. Some of us have been on the receiving end of police violence. We too experience brutality and injustice. We are a part of the city we serve and bear the same wounds.

What we’ve witnessed during the Seattle 2020 Protests does not show us a City leading from our stated values. It shows us a militarized police force escalating conflict and assaulting members of the public. When the police see an entire population of people as a threat, the police are the problem.

Stop hiding behind legalistic language and platitudes like “thank you for your efforts”, “...to lead with grace and restraint”, and “I couldn’t be prouder.” Performative allyship needs to end. We need concrete steps, not empty words.

We need you, all of you, to use all your power and influence to make bold changes. Seattle, and by that we mean White Seattle, must step up for Justice - immediately and continually - because without justice there can be no true, lasting peace.

Stop the excessive use of force. We do not want another child pepper-sprayed in the face. We cannot tolerate another person murdered in the street by an officer so drunk on power they can’t see that the people they are sworn to serve and protect are standing right in front of them. Research shows that disproportionate use of force can turn a peaceful protest violent. We need to give SPD better de-escalation tools and hold them accountable when they break the law.

It gives us no pleasure to call out our coworkers in SPD. We know that job is hard. But if they are acting in your name, in my name, in all our names, then we need to hold them to a higher standard. Working for the City is something we should all be proud of. It is impossible to be proud when we know we are a part of a system that holds people down when it could be lifting them up.

On behalf of John T. Williams, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, David McAtee, Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, Eric Garner, Freddie Grey, Philando Castile, Charleena Lyles, Michal Brown, Alton Sterling and countless, countless others, we ask that you:

-- Respect peaceful protestors
-- Do not use verbal or physical threats of any kind
-- Do not use chemical weapons
-- Fully investigate all OPA complaints
-- Hold officers accountable for their actions with real, lasting consequences
-- Increase de-escalation training and practice
-- Demilitarize the Seattle Police force
-- Worry less about broken windows and more about police violence
-- Work with the many area organizations and activists to put community policing into action

We look forward to swift and forceful changes and working together to make Seattle the incredible, just city it should be.

“But it falls on all of us, ...to work together to create a “new normal” in which the legacy of bigotry and unequal treatment no longer infects our institutions or our hearts.” - Barack Obama

A Message from City of Seattle Employees.