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Police departments operate as active political forces, not just passive enforcers of the law.
Seen that way, Seattle organizers are in the opening stages of a long campaign against Seattle PD. The cop union getting expelled from our county's AFL-CIO federation is the first win.
Seen that way, Seattle organizers are in the opening stages of a long campaign against Seattle PD. The cop union getting expelled from our county's AFL-CIO federation is the first win.
The next step has to be defunding the Seattle Police Department to rubble. This is a longer, much less "exciting" fight that will need to take place iteratively.
Seattle operates on a biennial budget. What is defunded today can reappear 2 years later.
Or 2 years after that.
Seattle operates on a biennial budget. What is defunded today can reappear 2 years later.
Or 2 years after that.
The Seattle Police Officer's Guild is out of the King County Labor Council, but that doesn't mean they'll just go away.
Having finally been expelled from the progressive circle of trust (for now), look for their leadership to go on the offensive:
Having finally been expelled from the progressive circle of trust (for now), look for their leadership to go on the offensive:
Unbeknownst to many, Seattle has a robust ecosystem of right-wing media: widely-read blogs, extremist conservative commentators with national profiles, seemingly neutral apologists on the evening news, and centrist pundits who unknowingly pasteurize racial oppression.
Sensing their declining political capital, I suspect the city's right-wing + the police establishment (and its apologists in Durkan's office) will start to lash out in really vicious ways. We have to celebrate our wins when we get them, but it's also important to remain vigilant.
