March Newsletter | Office of Police Accountability

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Indoors at Seattle's Central Library at night, stacks of books, and a text box that says "OPA in the Community" in bold, black print.

The Office of Police Accountability has been active throughout the month of March, engaging with community members and public safety partners across Seattle. Our team attended the UNCF Seattle Seeds of Hope Gala and the 2026 Seattle Police Awards Ceremony. We also met with the SPD Filipino Advisory Council and the SPD LGBTQ+ Advisory Council, joined the Rainier Beach Public Safety Town Hall, and attended the latest Before the Badge meeting. 

These engagements help strengthen collaboration, build trust, and ensure community perspectives continue to guide our work. 

Bonnie Glenn, Regina Glenn, Brian Surratt and Mayor Katie Wilson in formal event wear standing in a ball room.

Attending the UNCF Gala: Bonnie Glenn – OPA Director, Regina Glenn, Brian Surratt  Deputy Mayor, and Mayor Katie Wilson 


Request a Community Engagement Meeting 

OPA is committed to transparency and community engagement. Our team provides presentations across Seattle on topics such as: 

✅ Introduction to OPA – Learn how OPA is structured and operates. 

✅ Complaint Process – Understand how to file a complaint and what to expect. 

✅ Know Your Rights – Gain insights into common SPD interactions.  

We meet with a wide variety of groups, including schools, libraries, advocacy organizations, commissions, community boards, and more!  

📅🔗 Click to request a presentation: https://bit.ly/opapreso 

Map graphic with text that says where OPA will give presentations

Graphic inviting community presentation requests from OPA. At the top, white text on dark gray boxes reads: “Request a meeting and presentation from OPA regarding the following topics: Introduction to OPA, Complaint Process, and Know Your Rights.” Below, a heading asks, “Where does OPA go?” The background shows a cityscape of Seattle with tall buildings and the monorail in the background. A graphic of a dotted path with red location pins highlights places OPA presents, including non-governmental organizations, advocacy organizations, community groups, community centers, colleges, public libraries, community board meetings, religious organizations, and high schools.   

Photo of an SPD cruiser parked in the grass with a white and yellow box with text overlay that says "For SPD officers"

Management Action Recommendations  

During investigations, OPA may find opportunities for policy or training improvements and issue a Management Action Recommendation (MAR), sent as a letter to the Chief of Police outlining specific issues and suggesting policy or training improvements. While SPD is not required to adopt these recommendations, they actively collaborate with OPA to explore potential solutions. 

Death Investigations: *Content Warning: The recommendation includes mention of suicide. SPD recently declined a recommendation on death investigations stating they already train officers on opened ended questions and that CARE and SPD are aligned in policy and any call classification changes should be directed at CARE. 


Police Accountability and Wellness

The Six Facets of Holistic Wellness
Police Chief Magazine published a 2024 article titled, “The Six Facets of Holistic Wellness,” discussing the importance of police in maintaining public safety and the many demands on public safety professionals. It argues wellness might be a conceptual model of six pieces: physical, emotional, social, spiritual, financial, and intellectual. Please click on the link for more information. 


Law Enforcement Wellness App

The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs will receive renewed funding from the legislature in 2026 to continue to operate and support the law enforcement wellness app. This app was created in 2023 to support any law enforcement officer (current or retired) and their family in the state of Washington. It is designed to support the overall wellbeing of law enforcement personnel by providing tools that promote stress management, resilience, and healthy habits. This app can complement an agency’s broader wellness strategy but should not be a substitute for evidence based mental health treatment or trauma specific support.

Please click on the links below for more information:

Seattle's downtown skyline at sunset. The sky is bright pink and orange.

About Closed Case Summaries 

After an investigation, OPA writes a report called the Director’s Certification Memorandum, which explains the director’s review of the case and recommended findings. When a case is closed, OPA posts a summary online that describes the investigation, the findings, and any discipline the Chief of Police decided. 

OPA looks at SPD’s policies and training to decide if misconduct happened.  This includes evidence gathered such as photos, body-worn video (if available), interviews of those involved and any witnesses, etc. A “sustained” finding usually means OPA determined it was more likely than not that an officer committed the alleged misconduct. 

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

Below are some recently posted Closed Case Summaries: 

2025OPA-0345 - No Allegations Sustained  An SPD officer deployed his Taser at a fleeing subject having multiple outstanding warrants. OPA found this Taser deployment justified due to the danger the subject posed to the public as he fled in a high-crime area. 

2025OPA-0255 - All Allegations Sustained  A civilian SPD employee viewed police records out of concern for her friend and then provided a police report to that friend. OPA found that this civilian employee improperly accessed police records and shared them with her friend without authorization. 

New Closed Case Summaries are posted to OPA’s website every other week, typically on Friday: seattle.gov/opa/news-and-reports/closed-case-summaries. 


Seattle's skyline at dusk with the Space Needle. The sky is light orange and gray. The heading overlay says "In the News" in black bold font.

In the News... 

Connecting local police accountability work to statewide and national efforts. 

Chicago, IL: After a nationwide search, Mayor Brandon Johnson appointed COPA’s acting chief administrator, LaKenya White as head of the agency. COPA makes disciplinary recommendations in officer involved shootings and deaths, serious injuries to community members while in police custody, and serious allegations of misconduct. She joined the department when it was created in 2017 and recently directed investigations for intake. Chief White shared her plan to rebuild trust in the oversight agency which “Officers view as a deck stacked against them” and “everyday Chicagoans don’t trust [COPA] to punish police wrongdoing” by fostering a working relationship between both groups. 

Hartford, CT: In the wake of two fatal officer involved shootings eight days apart, Hartford community leaders and residents have called for accountability and changes to public safety policies. After surveying more than 100 residents door-to-door to understand how they are feeling and any changes they might want to see the North Hartford Public Safety Coalition has called for a public forum with the police chief and the mayor. The coalition is interested in having clinicians respond directly to calls related to mental health. 

Rochester, NY: Rochester’s police accountability board presented to the public on how local Rochester police use surveillance technology. They reported on technologies like automatic license plate readers, blue light cameras, body worn cameras, unmanned aerial vehicles, and their digital evidence management system to both inform the public and solicit feedback. A link to their full report titled, “Policing and Community Surveillance: Your Right to Privacy, A proposal for Change” can be found here. 


Photo of the Public Market Sign and a brick wall. There is a header overlay that says Links to Resources in bold, black font.

Photo of computer screens lined up on a desk with a header overlay that says "Where to find OPA" in bold, black font.

Other Places to get OPA News...


portion of this newsletter was edited with the assistance of M365 Copilot Chat and was reviewed for accuracy by members of the Office of Police Accountability before publication.