Mayor Harrell announces tentative agreement with Seattle Police Officers Guild

Today Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell announced the tentative agreement that was ratified by the Seattle Police Officers Guild earlier this month. The agreement must now be approved by the city council.

Seattle officers have been working without a contract since 2020. This agreement would go through 2023. Negotiations for 2024 are ongoing with the assistance of a mediator.

Under the agreement officers would receive retroactive pay increases of 1.3% for 2021, 6.4% for 2022 and 15.3% for 2023.

The increase would make Seattle among the most competitive police agencies for pay in the state. A move it is hoped will help recruit and retain officers.

The agreement would also expand the civilian role in public safety services such as emergency shelter requests, property damage, noise complaints, and landlord/tenant issues.

Under the agreement there are also changes to officer misconduct investigations and grievance procedures.

Among the changes, two more civilian investigators will be added to the Office of Police Accountability.

An arbitrator would also be required “in discipline appeals when misconduct is found to give deference to the discipline imposed by the Police Chief.”

In a statement Mayor Bruce Harrell said, “This agreement focuses on three key areas: improving police staffing and fair wages at a time when officer numbers are at a historic low; enhancing accountability measures to ensure allegations of misconduct are thoroughly investigated and discipline is appropriate; and expanding civilian response options to build a diversified safety system and create new efficiencies.