Seattle police will begin implementing the nation’s first policy that governs the use of police patrol “ruses,” a statement an officer knows is not true but may be helpful to an investigation, according to city press release Monday.
“Effective public safety requires community buy-in, and this new policy is an important step to build understanding with the public, demonstrating that for Seattle Police Department (SPD) operations to be successful, they must be paired with a commitment to unbiased, constitutional policing,” said Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell.
The policy comes a few years after a Seattle officer’s ruse contributed to the suicide of a hit-and-run driver in 2018. Another controversial ruse was when officers created fake radio traffic to try and get protesters away from the CHAZ/CHOP zone in 2020. Harrell directed the SPD to develop the new policy because those cases undermined the public’s trust and confidence in police, according to the SPD.
Much better thank you for posting an alternative link!
the best source of real journalism in Seattle is https://www.thestranger.com/
Ooh, yeah, I don’t live in the Seattle area so I’m not as familiar with their media environment/don’t remember all their papers off the top of my head, but I remember the Stranger being a really solid one now that you mention it
Dan Savage is one of the main reasons that it’s known far and wide. I’m proud to have shook his hand once.
Happy to do it! And thanks for calling out this source, way too easy for information like that to go down the memory hole