SPD reports significant decrease in use of force from 2021 to 2023

SEATTLE — The data is in and when it comes to Seattle Police Department’s (SPD) use of force the numbers appear to be moving in the right direction.

"Overall use of force has decreased from 2021 to 2023,” Christine Berbelis Standards and Compliance Supervisor with Seattle Office of Inspector General (OIG) to Seattle City Council's Public Safety Committee Tuesday regarding a 2023 Seattle Police Department Use of Force Assessment.

In 2023, there were no Type III use of force (which can lead to substantial harm or even death) incidents involving behavioral crisis calls.

Until last year, the city and the SPD had been under a consent decree requiring federal oversight due to a pattern of using excessive force. Since that 2012 decree, the city has made wide-reaching reforms.

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"I want to commend SPD in bringing these statistics down to zero, that's phenomenal," said Seattle Councilmember Cathy Moore, a member of the SCC Public Safety Committee.

Berbelis told the Committee 2023 reviewed the data, citing the lowest use of force in officer-involved shootings since 2015. She said there were 3,686 use-of-force incidents from 2021 to 2023.

"Those three years have had the lowest recorded use of force since consistent data collection began in 2015," Berbelis said.

Part of the assessment’s methodology prioritizes ongoing collaboration with SPD to find effective ways to assess the department and increase transparency according to the report.

"We have not had a fatal officer-involved shooting in almost two years. That is remarkable for a major city," said SPD Chief Operating Officer Brian Maxey. SPD and the OIG will continue to develop new approaches and metrics to address emerging issues, as well as develop processes to provide real-time feedback to SPD regarding force investigation and review.

SPD's use of force data has been analyzed and assessed by Seattle's OIG. The analysis was mandated by the U.S. District Court as part of the 2012 consent decree.

Until last year, the city and the SPD had been under the consent decree requiring federal oversight due to a pattern of using excessive force. Since that 2012 decree, the city has made wide-reaching reforms and is still under federal oversight regarding the use of force and crowd control policies.

The 2023 Use of Assessment Report finds:

• 3,686 uses of force occurred between 2021 and 2023.
• 2021 had the lowest record of uses of force (1,116) since 2015. 2022 and 2023 had the second (1,257) and third (1,323) lowest uses of force, respectively.
• 2021 had the lowest uses of force Type I (850) and Type II (246) since 2015.
• 2023 had the lowest uses of force in Officer Involved Shootings (2) since 2015.

Seattle Inspector General Lisa Judge told the SCC Committee she sat in most of SPD's use of force review boards over the last eight years and attributes the reduction in use of force to the department embracing “de-escalation strategies” and “embracing” the philosophy. She said that's based on her own personal observations.

"I have watched SPD officers communicate, give folks space, distance, and really try to resolve situations," said Judge.

The data also revealed data presented to the city council’s public safety committee revealed a concern of what appears to be racial disparity:

The counts of Type I and Type II subjects of force remained steady for white and Asian populations.

The counts of force against Black, Hispanic/Latino, and other minorities increased.

Both Maxey and Judge told Moore, that data may reflect how the information is reported and requires a “deeper dive.”

Maxey told councilmembers the data will help inform policing, and said the department needs to get to the right type of policing for the communities it serves.

"Those figures clearly show that there is increased use of force in Black and Latino individuals,” said Maxey.

Both Maxey and Judge said they believe the way that specific data is reported may be problematic and require a "more nuanced analysis," telling Moore it relies on census data as part of the methodology and they want to do more analysis and come up with an "appropriate fix."

"We need to know what every officer is doing, doing it to who and why," Maxey said.

The Community Police Commission (CPC) issued a statement in early March when the Use of Force report was completed.

“I appreciate the work of OIG in submitting the use of force assessment to the court, which is a thorough analysis of use of force and crowd control policies,” said CPC Co-Chair Rev. Patricia Hunter. “It will help SPD enhance community trust by analyzing and improving its policies so that all communities will see a reduction of force. This is important in communities of color and we hope that SPD will look closely at who is being most heavily impacted by its use of force policies.”

This report is long-awaited by the Community Police Commission, which works in part to make community-based recommendations concerning the SPD’s use of force and crowd control policies.

The CPC’s founding is rooted in the aftermath of the SPD’s excessive use of deadly force against First Nations woodcarver John T. Williams in 2010. Williams’ death galvanized the community and prompted the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and enter into a Consent Decree with the City of Seattle to ensure SPD's unconstitutional policing practices are corrected.

The use of force is one of the final hurdles to a final consent decree resolution.

"This is the point that we as a city and the Office of Inspector General demonstrate we have the capabilities we have the expertise, we have the wherewithal to take over oversight from our federal partners," said Judge.

Click here to see the 2023 Use of Force Assessment presentation.