After receiving a confidential report critical of the Seattle Police Department, City Council President Nick Licata has renewed his call to subject the police chief and the fire chief to periodic reconfirmation by the council, says the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. He wants to ask voters in November to empower the council to retain or dump the two public safety chiefs every four years. Licata said a civilian review board’s report “raise(s) some serious questions with regards to the role of the police chief and maintaining an independent Office of Professional Accountability.” The report involved a controversial drug bust by two police patrol officers that resulted in mild disciplinary action against the officers.
Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske and Tim Ceis, Mayor Greg Nickels’ deputy, strongly criticized Licata’s proposal. Kerlikowske believes that one of the review board members “has a political agenda.” Ceis suggested Licata was playing “politics with the police investigation” and “making judgments based on a report that nobody else has seen.”
Link: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/320336_review19.html