OPA presented its mid-year report at the Seattle City Council Public Safety Committee’s July 9th meeting. Deputy Director Bonnie Glenn shared OPA project updates, like our “Police Accountability Community Survey Report” and complainant impact statement pilot program, and Director Gino Betts answered the committee’s questions.  

👉 WATCH our full presentation to City Council (starts at 1:11:18): seattlechannel.org/videos?videoid=x157820 

Watch OPA’s Mid-Year Presentation

Read OPA’s Mid-Year Presentation

Our senior community engagement specialist and restorative justice coordinator, Geneva Taylor, spoke with Seattle Police Department recruits about OPA at the department’s “Before the Badge” training in late June.  Before the Badge helps recruits build community relationships before receiving their badges.  

👉 Learn more about the training: seattle.gov/police/community-policing/before-the-badge

OPA’s mediation program is a voluntary dispute resolution process for police officers and community members to discuss a conflict with the guidance of a neutral, third-party certified mediator. According to the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE), studies show that officers and civilians who participate in mediation are more satisfied with the complaint resolution process than those who participate in a misconduct investigation.  

Depending on the severity of the allegation, available evidence, participants' willingness, and other factors, OPA may offer mediation to complainants and named employees as an alternative to an investigation (see PG. 43 of OPA’s manual to learn more about criteria). 

Learn More About OPA's Mediation Program 

OPA creates Closed Case Summaries for every completed investigation. These summaries outline OPA’s investigation, the director's analysis and findings, recommended discipline, and any discipline imposed by the Seattle Police Department’s (SPD) chief of police. 

OPA references SPD’s policies and training to determine whether misconduct occurred. Generally, a sustained finding means OPA concluded that an officer more likely than not committed the alleged misconduct. 

OPA posts new Closed Case Summaries every other Friday to its website: seattle.gov/opa/news-and-reports/closed-case-summaries. 

CONTENT WARNING: To promote transparency, these summaries sometimes include photos and other evidence that some may find disturbing. 

Below are some of our recently posted Closed Case Summaries. 

2024OPA-0010 – No Allegations Sustained:  An SPD officer responded to a fight and arrested the Complainant for assault and trespass. The Complainant alleged that the officer lacked probable cause for the arrest and failed to conduct a thorough investigation. 

Click Here for the CCS

2023OPA-0155 – No Allegations Sustained: A community member, the Complainant’s son, was seriously injured in a shooting. The Complainant consented to SPD processing his son’s vehicle for evidence. However, the Complainant alleged an SPD officer inadequately communicated with his son’s family and gave them insufficient notice to retrieve his vehicle, resulting in its sale at auction. 

Click Here for the CCS 

👉 READ OPA’s Management Action Recommendation to SPD regarding 2023OPA-0155 and releasing evidence.

OPA’s website is a valuable tool for community members and SPD officers alike. Each month, dozens of visitors use it to file complaints, check the status of their complaints, review summaries of closed investigations, and more.  

Help improve our website so all users can easily find what they need. Take 3-5 minutes to complete OPA’s website user-experience survey.  

We especially want to hear from people who rarely or never use our website! 

Take OPA Website Survey