Case 2:12-cv-01282-JLR Document 566 Filed 07/10/19 Page 1 of 7 THE HONORABLE JAMES L. ROBART 1 2 3 4 5 6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE 7 8 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 9 Plaintiff, 10 v. 11 CITY OF SEATTLE, 12 Defendant. 13 14 15 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Case No. 2:12-cv-01282-JLR STIPULATED MOTION FOR ONEMONTH EXTENSION TO FILE METHODOLOGY NOTE ON MOTION CALENDAR: July 10, 2019 16 The Court directed the City of Seattle (City) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) 17 (collectively, “the parties”), with the assistance of the Community Police Commission (CPC) and 18 the Monitor, to “formulate a methodology (1) for assessing the present accountability regime, and 19 (2) for how the City proposes to achieve compliance” and to jointly file their methodology by July 20 15, 2019. Court’s 5/21/2019 Order at 13-14 (Dkt. 562). The City respectfully submits this stipulated 21 motion for an order granting a one-month extension until August 15, 2019. DOJ has been consulted 22 on the contents of this motion and joins in the request for additional time. 23 STIPULATED MOTION FOR ONE-MONTH EXTENSION TO FILE METHODOLOGY - 1 (12-CV-01282-JLR) Peter S. Holmes Seattle City Attorney 701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2050 Seattle, WA 98104 (206) 684-8200 Case 2:12-cv-01282-JLR Document 566 Filed 07/10/19 Page 2 of 7 Accountability Methodology Ordered By the Court 1 2 The parties and the Monitor have a demonstrated history of collaborating on rigorous 3 assessments of the Seattle Police Department (SPD). Together they have drafted, refined, and reached 4 consensus on evidence-based methodologies for assessments of various aspects of SPD’s operations. 5 To assist with these assessments, the Monitor and the parties have regularly engaged and relied on 6 nationally recognized subject matter experts. 7 The first ten assessments under the Consent Decree were conducted by the Monitor between 8 2015 and 2017. They were undertaken with the participation of DOJ and the City and, as noted above, 9 with the assistance of numerous national subject matter experts. Based on the Monitor’s findings, the 10 Court determined on January 10, 2018, that the City had achieved full and effective compliance with 11 the Consent Decree. Since then, in accordance with the Court-approved Sustainment Plan, the City 12 has been working with the Monitor and DOJ to conduct a series of self-assessments that evaluate 13 whether SPD has continued to maintain compliance. 14 This context is relevant to the Court’s direction to submit a “methodology . . . for assessing the 15 present accountability regime.” Court’s 5/21/2019 Order at 13-14. The parties will follow this 16 demonstrated approach for designing and completing the assessment ordered by the Court and will 17 seek the assistance of the CPC and the Monitor. A rigorous accountability assessment will provide 18 valuable and objective information regarding a path forward and help formulate the most effective 19 way to respond to the Court’s Order. The City’s Progress to Date 20 21 Since the Court’s May 21st Order, the City has worked to identify experts in police 22 discipline, labor law and arbitration, organizational accountability, civilian oversight, and 23 community policing to develop the methodology and undertake the assessment ordered by the STIPULATED MOTION FOR ONE-MONTH EXTENSION TO FILE METHODOLOGY - 2 (12-CV-01282-JLR) Peter S. Holmes Seattle City Attorney 701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2050 Seattle, WA 98104 (206) 684-8200 Case 2:12-cv-01282-JLR Document 566 Filed 07/10/19 Page 3 of 7 1 Court. In forming this team, the City incorporated input from the Monitor and DOJ. In addition, a 2 work session is planned for July 18 with the parties, CPC, and the Monitor. 3 The City has identified experts affiliated with the consulting firm 21 CP Solutions, LLC, 4 to assist in the assessment.1 The City is confident that these experts will be able to conduct an 5 assessment that is responsive to the Court and will increase public confidence in the accountability 6 system. As an initial matter, the authors of the City’s Accountability Ordinance cited to President 7 Obama’s White House Task Force on 21st Century Policing and its “comprehensive report in May 8 2015 that identified best practices and included recommendations on how policing practices can 9 promote crime reduction while building public trust.” Preamble to Accountability Ordinance, 10 § 1(I). The experts that the City is engaging served on the Task Force under President Obama and 11 helped author the report; one of them, Ronald L. Davis, was its executive director. The team is composed of five experts with complementary skills and backgrounds: 12 13 • Ronald L. Davis served in the Obama Administration as the Director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services of the U.S. Department of Justice. Mr. Davis was appointed by President Obama to be the Executive Director of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. Mr. Davis previously served as chief of police of East Palo Alto, CA. He is a Visiting Senior Fellow in the Harvard Law School Criminal Justice Policy Program. Mr. Davis recently assisted the Illinois Attorney General in successfully negotiating a consent decree for police reform in Chicago. • Sean Smoot is a labor attorney who served on the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing and as a police and public safety policy advisor to the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team. He was a member of the Executive Session on Policing at Harvard University Kennedy School of Government. Mr. Smoot is the Director and Chief Counsel of the Police Benevolent & Protective Association of Illinois and the Police Benevolent Labor Committee. • Darrel Stephens served over 50 years in policing from patrol officer to chief. His most recent chief position was in the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department, where he served 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 1 To ensure the integrity of the assessment, this team will be formally walled off from 21CP partners, advisors, and consultants who have ties to the City of Seattle. STIPULATED MOTION FOR ONE-MONTH EXTENSION TO FILE METHODOLOGY - 3 (12-CV-01282-JLR) Peter S. Holmes Seattle City Attorney 701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2050 Seattle, WA 98104 (206) 684-8200 Case 2:12-cv-01282-JLR Document 566 Filed 07/10/19 Page 4 of 7 from 1999 to 2008. Chief Stephens was elected as a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. His paper on police discipline was published as part of the Harvard Kennedy School’s New Perspectives in Policing series: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/234052.pdf 1 2 3 • Charles Ramsey was previously the Commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department. He served as Co-Chair of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. Former Commissioner Ramsey is an expert in neighborhood-based policing strategies, and organizational accountability. He worked with the Anti-Defamation League and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to lead the creation of a course for police officers, Law Enforcement & Society: Lessons from the Holocaust. • 12 Walter Katz is currently the director of professional services with Benchmark Analytics. He has expertise in civilian oversight of police accountability systems, including broad work experience with many aspects of civilian oversight of law enforcement. Mr. Katz was a Deputy Inspector General for the County of Los Angeles Office of Inspector General. In 2015, the San Jose, California city council appointed him as the Independent Police Auditor where he led the oversight of police misconduct complaint investigations. Most recently, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Public Safety in Chicago where he provided oversight of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, the Police Board, and the Chicago Police Department. Mr. Katz has served as a board member of the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement. Mr. Katz began his career with nearly 17 years as a public defender. 13 Over the past weeks, in an effort to achieve an inclusive and thoughtful process, the City 14 has convened a series of conversations, meetings, and working sessions. These events had to 15 accommodate the schedules of a large number of participants who are all critical to this process. 16 Immediately after the Court’s May 21st Order, the parties engaged in intensive discussions. In 17 June, however, the long-planned absences of multiple key representatives from the City and DOJ 18 complicated the process of scheduling stakeholder meetings and obtaining input to develop the 19 methodology ordered by the Court. 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 In addition to regular conversations with DOJ and the Monitor, the City has taken these 20 21 22 23 steps to comply with the Court’s May 21st Order: • June 17-19: The City held initial meetings to discuss the high-level concept of commissioning 21CP subject matter experts to develop a methodology and perform an independent, objective accountability assessment. This included meetings with the STIPULATED MOTION FOR ONE-MONTH EXTENSION TO FILE METHODOLOGY - 4 (12-CV-01282-JLR) Peter S. Holmes Seattle City Attorney 701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2050 Seattle, WA 98104 (206) 684-8200 Case 2:12-cv-01282-JLR Document 566 Filed 07/10/19 Page 5 of 7 Mayor’s Office, the City Attorney, CPC co-chairs, the CPC Executive Director, OIG, and OPA. 1 2 • June 26-27: 21CP subject matter experts came to Seattle to begin work on developing a methodology that is responsive to the Court’s direction and which also incorporates the priorities and perspectives of the parties, the Monitor, CPC, and the City’s other accountability partners.2 To inform their work, the Mayor’s Office convened a series of meetings on June 26 and 27 among 21CP experts and internal City stakeholders, as well as meetings between the experts and the parties. Representatives of CPC, SPD, OIG, and OPA participated in these initial meetings. • July 2: Telephone conference between Monitor and 21CP experts to discuss methodology. 3 4 5 6 7 Request for An Extension 8 9 10 11 12 Additional meetings, working sessions, and drafts have been scheduled in July and early August. The methodology that the parties submit to the Court will be informed and shaped by these conversations and exchanges. The City notes that CPC is an integral participant and so the timeline accommodates CPC’s meeting schedule. CPC full commission meetings occur on the first and third Wednesdays of each month. Accordingly, the parties propose to proceed as follows: 13 • July 17: 21CP experts meet with CPC full commission regarding methodology. 14 • July 18: Half-day working session with experts, parties, Monitor, and CPC representatives. Input from OIG and OPA will also be sought during this process. • July 29: City circulates to DOJ, MT, and CPC a draft, proposed methodology developed by the retained experts that incorporates the input of the parties, the Monitor, and CPC. • July 30-August 7: 21CP experts work with the parties, Monitor, CPC, OIG, OPA, and other stakeholders to discuss draft, proposed methodology. • August 7: Meeting of CPC full commission at which 21CP experts will be available to discuss draft, proposed methodology. • August 8 or before: Monitor and CPC provide written comments and feedback on draft methodology. • August 15: Parties jointly submit a proposed methodology to the Court. 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 2 The contract for 21CP’s engagement is attached to this motion as an exhibit. STIPULATED MOTION FOR ONE-MONTH EXTENSION TO FILE METHODOLOGY - 5 (12-CV-01282-JLR) Peter S. Holmes Seattle City Attorney 701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2050 Seattle, WA 98104 (206) 684-8200 Case 2:12-cv-01282-JLR Document 566 Filed 07/10/19 Page 6 of 7 1 The City will also be seeking input from other stakeholders and the community. 2 In order to ensure a robust and inclusive process, the parties, accordingly, would benefit 3 from additional time to submit the proposed methodology to the Court. CONCLUSION 4 5 6 For the foregoing reasons, the parties stipulate to a one-month extension and the City respectfully requests that the Court continue the July 15 filing deadline to August 15, 2019. 7 8 DATED this 10th day of July, 2019. 9 For the CITY OF SEATTLE 10 11 PETER S. HOLMES Seattle City Attorney 12 13 14 15 16 s/ Kerala T. Cowart Kerala T. Cowart, WSBA #53649 Assistant City Attorney Seattle City Attorney’s Office 701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2050 Phone: (206) 733-9001 Fax: (206) 684-8284 Email: kerala.cowart@seattle.gov 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 STIPULATED MOTION FOR ONE-MONTH EXTENSION TO FILE METHODOLOGY - 6 (12-CV-01282-JLR) Peter S. Holmes Seattle City Attorney 701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2050 Seattle, WA 98104 (206) 684-8200 Case 2:12-cv-01282-JLR Document 566 Filed 07/10/19 Page 7 of 7 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 1 2 I hereby certify that on July 10, 2019, I electronically filed the foregoing with the Clerk of 3 the Court using the CM/ECF system, which will send notification of such filing to the following: 4 Brian T. Moran bmoran@usdoj.gov 5 Christina Fogg Christina.Fogg@usdoj.gov Matt Waldrop james.waldrop@usdoj.gov Gregory Colin Narver gregory.narver@seattle.gov Kerry Jane Keefe kerry.keefe@usdoj.gov Peter Samuel Holmes peter.holmes@seattle.gov Jeff Murray jeff.murray@usdoj.gov Ronald R. Ward Ron@wardsmithlaw.com Timothy D. Mygatt timothy.mygatt@usdoj.gov Gary T. Smith gary.smith@seattle.gov Hillary H. McClure hillarym@vjmlaw.com David A. Perez dperez@perkinscoie.com Anna Thompson annathompson@perkinscoie.com 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Kristina M. Detwiler kdetwiler@unionattorneysnw.com 14 Merrick Bobb mbobb@pacbell.net 15 Bruce E.H. Johnson brucejohnson@dwt.com Eric M. Stahl ericstahl@dwt.com 16 17 DATED this 10th day of July, 2019, at Seattle, King County, Washington. s/ Kerala T. Cowart Kerala T. Cowart, WSBA #53649 Assistant City Attorney E-mail: kerala.cowart@seattle.gov 18 19 20 21 22 23 STIPULATED MOTION FOR ONE-MONTH EXTENSION TO FILE METHODOLOGY - 7 (12-CV-01282-JLR) Peter S. Holmes Seattle City Attorney 701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2050 Seattle, WA 98104 (206) 684-8200