About Us
Background
The 2010 shooting death by Seattle police of First Nations woodcarver John T. Williams, and a series of other serious incidents involving police and people of color, ignited public concern about bias and the use of excessive force in the Seattle Police Department (SPD).
After a federal investigation, the City of Seattle signed a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to reform SPD practices, as well as a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that established the work to be done over three years to ensure bias-free policing and address the issue of use of excessive force.
By ordinance, the City of Seattle established the Community Police Commission (CPC) to provide community input on the proposed reforms. The CPC was mandated under the MOU.
The CPC began its work in March of 2013.
Mission
The CPC plays a key role in the reform efforts. The CPC's charge is to represent a broad range of community perspectives and to reach out and engage communities directly, to get critical feedback, and to then recommend changes to SPD policies and practices. It gives community members a voice and stake in the reform efforts.
The CPC is depending on community involvement over the long haul. Community perspective is needed in the short-term on proposed policy changes, but also down the road to help determine whether the policies SPD implements are really working. The CPC fosters ongoing dialogue about police practices with community members, which will help build trust and strengthen community-police relations.
All CPC recommendations are intended to:
- Ensure police services comply with the Constitution and the laws of the United States and Washington
- Increase the effectiveness of the police accountability system
- Promote public confidence in SPD
Commissioners
The CPC's 15 commissioners are appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council. They represent the diversity of Seattle and include people from communities of color, ethnic and faith communities, immigrant communities, the urban Indian community, the lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender community, civil rights advocates, the business community, individuals familiar with the challenges faced by homeless people and those with mental illness or substance abuse issues, and youth. One member represents the Seattle Police Officers Guild and one represents the Seattle Police Management Association. CPC members live or work in all five Seattle police precincts. There is one vacancy at this time.
Claudia D'Allegri
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Claudia D'Allegri is Vice President of Behavioral Health at Sea Mar Community Health Centers, where she has over 17 years of experience administering health programs. Sea Mar serves more than 153,000 clients in Washington State each year, the majority of whom are low-income. Claudia also chairs the Latino Civic Alliance, a statewide organization that focuses its efforts on civic engagement, conducting town hall meetings and working on legislation with the State Legislature.
Lisa Daugaard
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Lisa Daugaard is Interim Deputy Director of the King County Department of Public Defense and Policy Director at the Public Defender Association (PDA). Since 2001, under Lisa's leadership, the Racial Disparity Project at PDA has focused on racial disparity in Seattle drug arrests, and since 2005, they have worked to develop LEAD, a pre-arrest diversion alternative to traditional arrest and prosecution for low-level drug and prostitution suspects. Prior to becoming a public defender in 1996, Lisa directed the Urban Justice Center Organizing Project and was Legal Director of the Coalition for the Homeless, both in New York City, and was a fellow at the ACLU National Legal Department.
Melinda Giovengo
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Dr. Melinda Giovengo became the Executive Director of YouthCare in November 2006. She has thirty years of experience in developing and implementing re-engagement programs for out-of-school and homeless youth. Melinda speaks locally and nationally on youth homelessness, adolescent mental health issues, and child sexual exploitation and is published on issues concerning homeless youth and the impact of learning disabilities for hard-to-serve populations. She is a board member of the National Network for Youth and the National Youth Employment Coalition, and serves as the Government Relations Chair of YouthBuild USA. Melinda holds an M.A. in Clinical Psychology and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology
Enrique Gonzalez
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Enrique Gonzalez has worked for El Centro de la Raza in various roles for the past nine years. As the Juvenile Justice Policy Advocate, his focus has been on making policy changes in the juvenile justice system and working with schools to prevent suspensions and expulsions. El Centro de la Raza has been at the forefront of building better relationships with police officers and establishing trust within the community. This has been a major part of Enrique's work.
Jay Hollingsworth
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Jay Hollingsworth is an enrolled member of the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut and a member of the SPD Native American Advisory Council. He is also a member of the Washington State Democrats Native American Caucus and chair of the John T. Williams Organizing Committee.
David Keenan
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David Keenan practices at the global law firm of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe in complex litigation. David graduatedsumma cum laude from Seattle University School of Law while working full-time in his prior career in federal law enforcement. A former juvenile offender and high school dropout, David serves on boards at Northwest Justice Project, Friends of the Children, the Federal Bar Association, and Seattle University School of Law, as well as on the Washington State Bar Association's Judicial Recommendation Committee and the Washington Supreme Court's Civil Legal Needs Study Committee. He also devotes a significant amount of his practice to pro bono work relating to access to justice.
Marcel Purnell
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Marcel Purnell is the Program Coordinator for Youth Undoing Institutional Racism (YUIR). The program was developed in 2001 as a partnership between The People's Institute for Survival and Beyond, the American Friends Service Committee, and the Seattle Young People's Project. YUIR is a youth-centered multi-generational vehicle for young people to engage in ongoing anti-racist and anti-oppression education and to take action in their schools and community to bring forth social change.
Ron Rasmussen
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Acting Captain Ron Rasmussen joined the Seattle Police Department in 1985. He is currently assigned to the Compliance Bureau with responsibility for overseeing the implementation of the IAPro system (the new enterprise employee performance mentoring, complaint investigations, and use of force reporting system). He also manages the project to build a new Business Intelligence System for the Department. Ron is Vice President of the Seattle Police Management Association and fills the seat on the Commission reserved for that organization.
Jennifer Shaw
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Jennifer Shaw is Deputy Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington. She is responsible for leading policy advocacy work and coordinating multi-disciplinary, high impact campaigns for civil liberties that involve legal, legislative, public education and mobilizing programs. She has served on the King County Sheriff's Blue Ribbon Panel and the Seattle Mayor's Police Accountability Review Panel. Jennifer is a member of the Seattle University Law Alumnae Board and mentors law students and new attorneys.
Kevin Stuckey
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Officer Kevin Stuckey has been with the Seattle Police Department for 20 years. He greatly enjoyed his years as a school emphasis officer (SEO). SEOs focus on education and mentoring to help at-risk youth stay in school. Kevin has maintained relationships with many students even after their graduation and is very proud of their success as young adults. Kevin is currently assigned to the East Precinct community police team. He is the Seattle Police Officers Guild board member and fills the seat on the Commission reserved for that organization.
Harriett Walden
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Rev. Harriett Walden has been a vocal advocate for better police-community relations in Seattle since she co-founded Mothers for Police Accountability in 1990. She has been appointed to and served on numerous task forces and commissions that involve efforts to improve and heal community-police relations and to achieve greater transparency and accountability in the criminal justice system.
Aaron Williams
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Rev. Aaron Williams is the Senior Pastor of Mount Zion Baptist Church and Vice-President of the United Black Clergy. His greatest wish as a religious leader is that we strive to create a "beloved community." He believes we must all work towards that end, and he's eager to work with the Mayor and other community leaders to make it a reality. Aaron served on the Police Chief Search Committee for the City of Seattle in 2009. He received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology from Paine College in Augusta, Georgia, and a Master of Theology with an emphasis in Systematic Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas.
Past Commissioners
Bill Hobson
Appointed by: Mayor Mike McGinn
Term: March 2013 - September 2014
Bill Hobson has been the Executive Director of the Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC) since 1988.
Kate Joncas
Appointed by: Mayor Mike McGinn
Term: March 2013 - June 2014
Kate Joncas is the Deputy Mayor for Mayor Ed Murray. Prior to her position with the Mayor's office, she was President and CEO of the Downtown Seattle Association from 1994 until 2014.
Diane Narasaki
Appointed by: Mayor Mike McGinn
Term: March 2013 - December 2014
Diane Narasaki is Executive Director of Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS). She was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services to serve on the Center for Mental Health Services National Advisory Council.
Tina Podlodowski
Appointed by: Mayor Mike McGinn
Term: March 2013 - January 2014
Tina Podlodowski is a former Microsoft manager and Seattle City Councilmember. She served on the CPC until Mayor Murray appointed her to Senior Policy Advisor.
Kip Tokuda
Appointed by: Mayor Mike McGinn
Term: March 2013 - July 2013
Kip Tokuda was the former state representative for the 37th Legislative District and a tireless advocate on behalf of children and families. He unfortunately passed away in July 2013.
Partners
While the CPC is independent, it works closely with others to promote reform and develop policy recommendations.
The CPC partners with many community organizations. In 2013 it directly contracted with 13 organizations (through which 100 other organizations were also involved) to obtain insights about SPD. All of these organizations are identified in the CPC's January 2014 Community Outreach Report. The CPC continues to partner with these and other groups to ensure that a wide variety of community views are represented in the reform process.
Other key partners include SPD and its Compliance Division, the Office of Professional Accountability, the Mayor's Office, the Department of Justice and other City agencies and departments. The CPC also partners with the Seattle Police Monitor who oversees the settlement agreement and with the DOJ.
Staff
Fé Lopez
Executive Director
206-684-5175
fe.lopez@seattle.gov
Fé Lopez was appointed Executive Director by Mayor Murray and confirmed by the CPC and the Seattle City Council in early 2014. Prior to working for the CPC, Fé was the director of alumni relations and annual fund at Seattle University School of Law. She is a past president of the Latina/o Bar Association of Washington (LBAW) where she and other minority bar and community leaders advocated for greater police accountability. Fé currently serves as a board member of OneAmerica and co-administrator of the Schroeter Goldmark Bender/LBAW Free Legal Clinic at El Centro de la Raza. She earned her J.D. at Seattle University School of Law.
Anne Bettesworth
Policy Analyst
206-684-8078
anne.bettesworth@seattle.gov
Anne Bettesworth provides complex policy research, advice, and strategy to help the Commission fulfill its duties. Anne came to the CPC from the Council of State Governments Justice Center, where she worked on an initiative called Justice Reinvestment, the aim of which was to avert state prison population growth and reinvest savings in strategies that would reduce recidivism and increase public safety. Prior to that, Anne lived in Washington, DC, where she worked for a member of Congress and in the Government Affairs Office at the American Psychological Association. She has a Master in Public Administration from The George Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Washington, where she studied political science and Spanish.
Tracy Whitlatch
Administrative Staff Assistant
206-233-2664
tracym.whitlatch@seattle.gov
Tracy Whitlatch is responsible for office management and administrative support. Prior to joining the CPC, Tracy worked 11 years for SPD beginning with 9-1-1 dispatch, and later supporting command staff, the Investigative Bureau and in SPD's public disclosure unit. In 2009 Tracy received the SPD Innovation Award which is "presented to a person or team that developed a creative solution or new program that embodied the characteristics of courage, risk-taking and/or perseverance, to address a long-standing problem." She also received the SPD Impact Award with the Narcotics Section, ProAct Teams. "This award is given to a team or unit that through their collaborative and innovative working style has made a significant impact on a crime or crime-related problem."
Technical Support
Betsy Graef
Contractor
betsy.graef@seattle.gov
Betsy Graef served as interim Director of the CPC from July 2013 through January 2014. She is currently managing the CPC's work to reform SPD's accountability system and providing technical back-up in a variety of other areas. As a legislative aide at the Seattle City Council, Betsy built expertise in local government public policy research, analysis and development, with a focus on public safety, criminal justice and education issues. Her prior career was as a project manager in the healthcare field. She has a Masters in Health Administration from the University of Colorado.