Mayor Murray, Chief O’Toole statements on Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ consent decree announcement

Mayor Ed Murray and Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole released the following statements after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions called for a review of federal consent decrees with law enforcement agencies nationwide:

“Our progress under the Consent Decree cannot be undone by empty bureaucratic threats. Our police department is well into the process of reform and will continue this work,” said Mayor Murray. “We are too far along for President Trump to pull us away from justice. In Seattle, the Department of Justice cannot change our Consent Decree unilaterally. Instead, our Consent Decree is firmly in the hands of the Honorable Judge James Robart, who has shown his commitment to reform from the very beginning and whose guidance we have followed throughout the reform process. Our Monitor, our Police Chief and our entire police department, our City Council and City Attorney, our Community Police Commission, our community at large, and I will not step back from this work. We have made tremendous progress and become a national leader on constitutional policing, while improving trust between our department and the community, thanks to the dedication of the men and women of the Seattle Police Department. Regardless of what announcements are made by the Department of Justice, we look forward to announcing more of that progress in the coming days.”

“The Seattle Police Department has established itself as a national leader in reform,” said Chief Kathleen O’Toole. “Over the past three years, we have implemented new trainings to greatly reduce use of force and enhanced accountability throughout our department. As we achieve compliance with the Consent Decree, our success is a credit to our officers, and reflects real and measurable progress. We remain committed to constitutional and effective policing in our city.”