Seattle City Council approves resolution recognizing failure of ‘defund the police’

The city’s 2021 budget did cut funding for police department operations by 9.6% from approximately $401.8 million to $363 million

Spencer Pauley
The Center Square Washington

The Seattle City Council has approved a resolution that reiterates support for first responders, including noting progress on the Seattle Police Department’s federal consent decree and acknowledging the failure of the “defund the police” movement. 

Passed unanimously by the city council on Tuesday, Resolution 32167 serves as a recommitment to supporting the Emerald City’s public safety professionals and first responders.

The resolution recognizes the progress the Seattle Police Department has made regarding the consent decree that stemmed from a 2012 lawsuit by the U.S. Department of Justice alleging a pattern of constitutional violations, leading to a court-approved settlement requiring comprehensive reforms to promote fair policing and rebuild community trust.

The Seattle Police Department is nearing the end of its federal consent decree, with most provisions terminated. However, lingering concerns remain regarding crowd control policies and accountability.

Now Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison will submit the last remaining Seattle Police Department policies to a federal monitor for review. 

The city has worked to be in full compliance with a preliminary injunction regarding the department’s crowd control measures, the result of a 2012 court order that was sought by the U.S. Department of Justice following an investigation into the police department’s policies and practices at the time.

Seattle City Councilmember Rob Saka sponsored this bill. Prior to the council vote, Saka said the resolution reverses defund commitments and pledges by previous city council members.

“This legislation allows us to collectively heal from the shameful legacy of ‘Defund’ and importantly officially pivot towards a diversified response model that communities so desperately need,” Saka said during Tuesday’s city council meeting.

Following the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest – later known as the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone in May 2020 – former Seattle City Councilmembers Tammy Morales, Kshama Sawant, Teresa Mosqueda, Lorena González, Lisa Herbold, Andrew Lewis, and current city councilmember Dan Strauss agreed to a commitment to defund the Seattle Police Department by 50% and reallocate the dollars to other community needs.

The city’s 2021 budget did cut funding for police department operations by 9.6% from approximately $401.8 million to $363 million. However, the following years, the police budget would slowly increase to $451.6 million in 2025.

The impacts of the defund the police movement included an exodus of Seattle police officers, leaving the department at its lowest staffing levels since the city first kept track in the 1990s.

Saka noted that as a black American, he was not supportive of the “defund the police” movement and did not appreciate the city council at the time acting in the best interest of African-American communities, despite a lack of representation on the dais. He added that the police department being defunded hurt all communities across the city.

“That commitment to defund the police was made purportedly in the best interest of black and brown communities, when [there was] not one black person on the council at the time,” Saka said. “As a black man I’ll say black and brown communities do not need white saviors.”

Since 2024, the Seattle Council has prioritized policing in the city. The council has passed 14 pieces of legislation related to public safety since last year. That is a record number since 2015.

This report was first published by The Center Square Washington.