The City of Seattle regained full local control of the Seattle Police Department Wednesday after U.S. District Court Judge James Robart sided with the city’s motion to terminate the Department of Justice’s longstanding consent decree.
The ruling brings to an end 13 years of federal monitoring. In that time, Seattle spent more than $127 million on new training, technology, data collection and accountability systems to stem the department’s excessive use of force and the racially biased policing that contributed to the consent decree. Seattle’s Community Police Commission, Office of the Inspector General and Office of Police Accountability were created in that period to increase officer accountability and oversight.
Federal oversight of SPD began in 2012 after a DOJ investigation into the police department’s use of force concluded it was excessive to the point of violating the Constitution.
A group of 35 Seattle community organizations had pushed for the investigation after several high-profile incidents of police violence, including an officer kicking a Latino suspect in the face and making racialized threats while he was detained on the ground; kicking and punching teenage suspects; and the killing of Native American woodcarver John T. Williams.
The city’s progress toward compliance was marred by setbacks over the years. In 2014, an SPD officer was fired after punching a handcuffed woman and fracturing a bone near her eye. The officer was later reinstated following the mandatory arbitration stipulated by the Seattle Police Officers Guild contract. Robart ordered the city to explain how the officer’s reinstatement did not violate the consent decree.
Robart flagged SPOG’s contract as a noncompliance issue again in 2019 since it rolled back new accountability measures.
The department fell further out of compliance with its crowd control measures during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. In June 2020, U.S. District Judge Richard Jones issued a temporary restraining order barring SPD’s use of pepper spray, tear gas and projectiles, ruling that the department was using excessive force and violating protesters’ free speech rights.
Nonetheless, Robart lauded SPD’s progress on most areas of reform. In response to a 2023 motion by the city to dismiss the consent decree, Robart noted that SPD had met the requirements in all but two areas: crowd control and accountability.
In February, the City Council passed a new SPD crowd control ordinance that, among other things, dictates when officers can use “less lethal weapons” such as tear gas and blast balls. The ordinance satisfied the conditions of the consent decree, but reform advocates criticized it for reinstating use of blast balls and other crowd control weapons, which a previous Council had restricted in the wake of 2020’s protests.
Increased accountability measures must come through SPOG’s union contract, which the city is currently negotiating. According to The Seattle Times, however, Judge Robart concluded that the court does not have jurisdiction to interfere with the collective bargaining process.
The City Council approved a new SPOG contract in 2024 that provided significant pay increases without additional accountability measures. Councilmembers said the raises were necessary to reverse the exodus of officers, and promised the city would continue negotiations over accountability measures in the department’s next contract.
The Community Police Commission has called for several accountability reforms in the next SPOG contract, including removal of provisions that allow the contract to supersede local law and “accountability loopholes” such as the 180-day limit on misconduct investigations and the heightened burden of proof.
In his remarks to the court Wednesday, Mayor Bruce Harrell said SPD was today a different department than it had been in 2012 and 2020, and would continue to improve in the years to come.
“We believe that returning control of our police department to the people of Seattle is the most appropriate next step, as democratic policing works best when officers have the trust and confidence of their communities,” said Harrell in a statement released after Robart’s ruling. “We respectfully requested the Court's final closure of this matter so we can continue building a police service that reflects the values and priorities of the people of Seattle.”
In its request to be released from the consent decree, city officials noted SPD officers’ reduction in use of force since 2014, when the city implemented a new use-of-force policy. According to city data, officers used force against citizens an average of about 1,000 times per year between 2014 and 2018. In 2024, there were just over 600 use-of-force incidents.
In a statement following the ruling, SPD Chief Shon Barnes acknowledged that there is still work to do to reform the department. Barnes took over the department at the start of 2025 and pledged to rebuild SPD’s relationships with the communities it polices.
“While we embrace change and continue working towards becoming the best police department in the nation, we also understand that today’s ruling is just the beginning,” said Barnes in the statement. “With the community’s support, we look forward to engaging with all stakeholders as we work to cement change and innovation as bedrock principles of policing in Seattle.”
The Community Police Commission voiced its support for Robart’s decision to end federal oversight. In a statement, the Commission acknowledged the progress made during federal monitoring, but said true reform must come from local leadership.
“Our support for termination does not mean SPD has finished its work,” wrote the CPC in its statement. “The Seattle Police Department has more work to do towards rebuilding trust with communities most impacted by policing. Local oversight must remain strong and independent, and the CPC will continue to ensure that community voices shape the future of public safety in this city.”
