Seattle police officer drafts Bill to block the Dept. of Justice takeover of the police department.

A Seattle cop who serves in the state legislature is attempting to derail a possible Department of Justice takeover of the Seattle Police Department.

Last month, the DOJ released a report that found that Seattle police frequently used excessive force during arrests, and described the department’s “system of accountability” as “broken.” As a result of the probe, the SPD could be forced to enter into an agreement with DOJ, which would mandate changes within the department under threat of a federal civil rights lawsuit.

SPD has taken issue with the DOJ’s findings and asked the DOJ to back up their report by sharing more data, but some members of the city council have endorsed moving forward with an agreement with the feds.

Now, Seattle police officer and State Rep. Mike Hope (R-44) has proposed legislation that would prevent SPD or any other law enforcement agency in the state—like the Spokane PD, also facing a DOJ probe—from adopting DOJ directives.

Hope is the sole sponsor of the legislation.

Hope’s bill would prohibit police departments across the state from adopting any use of force policies dictated by the DOJ, unless they’re explicitly required by an act of Congress, and would task the state attorney general with handling any civil rights lawsuits brought against police departments by the federal government.
http://publicola.com/2012/01/20/legislator-tries-to-block-doj-takeover-of-spd/