Seattle has about 650,000 people and about 1,800 police officers. In 2013, there were 29 homicides in Seattle; police committed 6 of them. This year's numbers are on track to beat last year's.
For those who argue that "homicide" is misleading or "clickbait", all I can say is:
Here is the headline from the Seattle Times
Seattle homicides, 2013: 29 total, 6 at hands of police
According to the article:
The King County Medical Examiner’s Office classifies deaths at the hands of police as homicides. Vehicular homicides are not included because they are classified as traffic cases.
There is nothing unusual about that. According to the
legal dictionary:
Homicide
The killing of one human being by another human being.
Those arguing that "cops are in dangerous situations so, of course, they are going to use deadly force more often" miss the point entirely. The point is this:
In the same city,
with the same police force,
with no significant change in overall homicide rates,
homicides by police have jumped.
Those who argue that comparing murder to justifiable homicide is apples to oranges also miss the point. Comparing the cops behavior to their historical behavior, or to behavior of cops in comparable jurisdictions shows this undeniable increase in incidents is a local phenomenon.
On top of all that, the numbers for 2014 YTD are on track to match or surpass the 2013 numbers.
Some might argue that 6 homicides out of 29 is not as bad as it seems. Consider the fact that Seattle police have only filed charges in 5 out of 29 cases and their numbers look even worse.
The undeniable fact is that prior to 2013, Seattle's homicide rate has fluctuated
Over the past decade, Seattle’s lowest yearly total of homicides was 19 in 2010; the highest was 32 in 2003.
However, searching
a list of killings by police (regardless of whether they occurred on duty or off duty) shows only 1 or 2 homicides by police in Seattle in any given year. Those numbers are in line with what you see in comparable cities like Portland. Some years Portland had zero homicides committed by police. Even though their murder rate is comparable to Seattle.
Something is clearly different in Seattle over the last two years. This is reflected in the turnover at the top of the department, where Interim chiefs have been running the show. As the Seattle Times reported in January, 2014
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray is expected to replace Interim Police Chief Jim Pugel with former Assistant Chief Harry C. Bailey in what could be the first step in a sweeping changing of the guard and makeover of the Police Department. As article states: The moves come a week after Murray took office, fulfilling a campaign promise to make compliance with federally mandated police reforms a top priority.
This all happened in a context of public outcry that has:
roiled the Police Department since the Department of Justice found in December 2011 that officers too often resorted to excessive force.
In fact,
the DoJ report (PDF) found:
Our investigation finds a pattern or practice of constitutional violations regarding the use of force that result from structural problems, as well as serious concerns about biased policing. Resolution of our findings will require a written, court-enforceable agreement that sets forth remedial measures to be taken within a fixed period of time. A disciplined remedial structure will provide all interested parties with the greatest assurance that violations of constitutional rights are corrected and will not reoccur. Efforts by SPD to address the findings in this letter will not only ensure that SPD meets its obligations under the United States Constitution, but will also improve public confidence in the Department and enhance its ability to provide for the public safety of all Seattle residents
Now that the Seattle PD is churning through Chiefs -- they totter around like a headless automaton in a zombified state demanding
more brains....