Seattle police review board seeks applicants

The City Council is seeking more applicants for a civilian board that monitors the Seattle Police Department's accountability system and could serve a larger role this year under a proposed labor contract with the police guild.

The three-member Office of Professional Accountability Review Board could be expanded by up to four members as it continues to report to the City Council on issues pertaining to police misconduct investigations.

The Seattle Police Officers' Guild will vote this month on the city's latest contract offer, which would boost officer pay and make several changes to OPARB and the overall disciplinary system.

A mayor-appointed panel recommended those changes, including increasing the civilian board's role as a primary conduit to the community to help maintain public confidence in the police accountability system.

The council already had called for applications in March to replace the board's current members, including chairman Peter Holmes, who served a maximum of two two-year terms.

It received 29 applications and narrowed the field down to six but wanted a larger pool of candidates if the guild approves the new contract offer, said Councilman Tim Burgess, chairman of the city's public safety committee.

The board was created in 2002 to increase civilian oversight of the department's Office of Professional Accountability, which has a civilian director.

It wrote a report last summer that criticized Chief Gil Kerlikowske's decisions in an internal investigation that cleared two officers of misconduct and sparked a controversy over police accountability.

It also has been the focus of past labor disputes between the guild and city.

Members, who must be impartial and possess "unquestionable integrity," meet for at least four hours per month and will organize community outreach sessions. They receive a $400 stipend.

The board's members must have a criminal-justice background or experience as a sworn police officer, lawyer or longtime community activist.

Applications can be sent to Burgess; Seattle City Council; P.O. Box 34025; Seattle; 98124- 4025, or by e-mail at tim.burgess@seattle.gov; or by fax at 206-684-8587.