Seattle Police Department
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Seattle Police Department (SPD) is the principal law enforcement agency of the city of Seattle, Washington, except for the campus of the University of Washington, for which responsibility falls to the University of Washington Police Department. It is nationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.
The Seattle Police Department has various specialty units including SWAT, bike patrol, harbor patrol, motorcycles, mounted patrols.
Law enforcement in Seattle began with the appointment of William H. ("Uncle Joe") Surber as town marshal in 1861. The SPD was officially organized on June 2, 1886. As of 2007 it has 1,285 sworn officers.
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[edit] Command Structure
The current chief of the Seattle Police Department is R. Gil Kerlikowske
- Deputy Chief John Diaz (Deputy Chief of Operations)
- Deputy Chief Clark Kimerer (Deputy Chief of Administration)
- Assistant Chief Harry Bailey (Patrol Operations Bureau 2)
- Assistant Chief Nick Metz (Criminal Investigations Bureau)
- Assistant Chief Linda Pierce (Patrol Operations Bureau 1)
- Assistant Chief Jim Pugel (Field Support Bureau)
- Assistant Chief James Pryor (Emergency Preparedness Bureau)
[edit] Significant Events
In 1999, Seattle hosted the World Trade Organization (WTO) Conference. The Seattle Police Department was criticized for failing to properly prepare for the over 100,000 protesters that disrupted the conference. While the majority of protestors were not violent, some assaulted delegates and police, and destroyed property. The protest soon devolved into a riot. In response, SPD used chemical agents and less-lethal weapons in an attempt to restore order. News footage of this response and of the rioting was broadcast worldwide. Amazingly, not a single protester or police officer was injured seriously enough during the riot to require hospitalization. Chief Norm Stamper resigned amid the scrutiny of police response to the event.
In 2001, riots broke out downtown during the Mardi Gras celebrations. The riots resulted in one death, more than 70 hospitalized, and 21 arrests. The Seattle Police Officers' Guild membership voted overwhelmingly "no confidence" in Chief Kerlikowske for his failure to take appropriate leadership action during the incident.
[edit] Bike Unit
In 2005 the department started testing the use of BlackBerry PDA's with bike patrol officers. These PDA's allowed officers on the streets access to police records when the use of regular mobile data computer is not available.[1]
[edit] Seattle Metropolitan Police Museum
The Seattle Metropolitan Police Museum is a museum in the Pioneer Square neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1997, it is dedicated to the history of the Seattle Police Department and of law enforcement in the Seattle metropolitan area. It claims to be the largest police museum in the western United States.
