The Dept. of Justice report says the Seattle police department used excessive force.

The Seattle Police Department has broken its trust with the community by using excessive force, charged federal investigators who called for more training and better supervision.
The conclusions were reached after more than eight months of investigation into the department's use of force, Assistant Atty. Gen. Thomas E. Perez of the U.S. Justice Department's civil rights division told reporters Friday at a Seattle news conference.

"We found that the systems of accountability are broken. Accountability is at the heart of constitutional policing," Perez said, adding that the Justice Department would work with local officials to improve training and supervision. "The trust between the Seattle Police Department and the people of Seattle is broken and must be repaired."

While insistent in calling for change, including a court monitor to check on progress, federal officials stopped short of finding that the police had engaged in discriminatory policing, and were gracious to the department, which has been under community fire after several cases of violence against minorities. U.S. Atty. Jenny A. Durkan cited the city's cooperation with the investigation and willingness to make changes as reasons to be optimistic.

"We take the allegations very seriously," Mayor Mike McGinn said in a telephone interview, adding that the city was looking forward to working with Justice officials. "I and Police Chief John Diaz are committed to the best police force possible, open and transparent. We will continue to work building trust with community."

The Justice Department is investigating about 20 police departments across the country, Perez said.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-justice-seattle-20111217,0,7302236.story

Dept. of Justice Report on the Seattle police department: http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/spl/documents/spd_findletter_12-16-11.pdf