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December 21, 2011

Mayor Mike McGinnCity of SeattleP.O. Box 94749Seattle, WA 98124-4749

Dear Mayor McGinn,

The ACLU of Washington and the community organizations listed below request youmake a strong public statement outlining your plans for addressing the very seriousissues raised in the report by the United States Department of Justice stemming from itsinvestigation of the Seattle Police Department, including implementation of therecommendations included in the report.

We agree with U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan that most Seattle police officers are good,dedicated public servants. However, the issues pinpointed by the DOJincludingexcessive use of force, insufficient skills in de-escalating conflict, and lack of internalaccountabilityare longstanding problems. Organizations in the community have voicedconcern about them for years.

The Citys leadership needs to set a tone indicating that it accepts the DOJ reportsrecommendations. These were based on intensive discussions with police, City officials,and community members, and detailed analysis of records provided by the Seattle PoliceDepartment itself. We are concerned that some of your public comments give the

impression of a reluctance to embrace the recommendations of the report. Instead offocusing on re-evaluating the data, the Citys leadership should focus on findingsolutions to well-documented problems that have developed over the years at the SeattlePolice Department.

Further, community stakeholders must be included in discussions about any solution tothe problems identified by DOJ, including the conditions of a consent decree. Theimpact of any intended solution will be felt by all community members in Seattle, and itis critical that SPD and City leadership regain the trust of those community members.Only with them at the table can we create lasting and sustainable change where publicsafety and civil rights are both protected. The City of Seattle deserves no less.

Sincerely,

Kathleen Taylor, Executive DirectorACLU of Washington

Estela Ortega, Executive DirectorEl Centro de la Raza

Merril Cousin, Executive DirectorKing County Coalition Against Domestic

Violence

AMERICAN CIVIL

LIBERTIES UNION

OF WASHINGTON

FOUNDATION

901 FIFTH AVENUE #630

SEATTLE, WA 98164

T/206.624.2184

F/206.624.2190

WWW.ACLU-WA.ORG

JESSE WING

BOARD PRESIDENT

KATHLEEN TAYLOR

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

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December 21, 2011Page 2

Robert Chang, Director, Fred T. KorematsuCenter for Law and Equality

Nicole Gaines, PresidentLoren Miller Bar Association

Fe Lopez, President-ElectLatina/o Bar Association of Washington

Rev. Paul Benz, Policy DirectorFaith Action Network

Rev. Harriett Walden, Executive DirectorMothers for Police Accountability

Dorry Elias-Garcia, Executive DirectorMinority Executive Directors Coalition

Mary Nguyen, Co-Chair, National AsianPacific American Women's ForumSeattle

Andy Sachs, PresidentQLaw: GLBT Bar Association of Washington

Tim Harris, Executive DirectorReal Change

Alison Eisinger, Executive DirectorSeattle/King County Coalition onHomelessness

Jesus Rodriguez, Co-ChairTrusted Advocates Association

Cindi Beech LaMar, ChairNdns for Justice

Floris Mikkelsen, DirectorThe Defender Association

Deborah Sioux Cano-Lee, Board PresidentWashington Indian Civil Rights Commission

Chris Stearns, ChairmanThe Seattle Human Rights Commission

Jenine Grey, Executive DirectorChief Seattle Club

Magdaleno Rose-Avila, Executive DirectorCommunity Health and Safety Committee

Susan Segall, Regional DirectorAmerican Friends Service Committee/PacificNorthwest

Millie A. Kennedy, President

Northwest Indian Bar Association

Diane Narasaki, Executive Director

Asian Counseling and Referral Service

Jorge L. Barn, Executive DirectorNorthwest Immigrant Rights Project

MEDC Multiracial Task Force on PoliceAccountability

Pamela Masterman-Stearns, PresidentCANOES (City Native American Employees

Association)

Cecile Hansen, Tribal Chairperson/DTSPresident, Duwamish Tribe on behalf ofDuwamish Tribal Services

Dan Ford, AttorneyColumbia Legal Services

Jay "Westwind Wolf" HollingsworthJohn T. Williams Organizing Committee

S. Arsalan Bukhari, Executive DirectorCouncil on American-Islamic Relations ofWashington State

Pramila Jayapal, Executive DirectorOneAmerica

Kerem Levitas, PresidentMiddle Eastern Legal Association of

Washington

Sharyne Shiu Thornton, Executive DirectorInternational District Housing Alliance

James Bible, PresidentSeattle/KingCounty NAACP

Christopher Peguero, Co-ChairCity of Seattle LGBTQ Employees forEquality