Council News Release

Councilmember Tim Burgess

City Council Confirmation Schedule Set for Police Civilian Auditor
Judge Michael Spearman to Appear at Public Safety Committee May 5

SEATTLE – Councilmember Tim Burgess, chair of the City Council’s Public Safety, Human Services, and Education Committee announced the Council’s confirmation schedule for Judge Michael Spearman who has been appointed by Mayor Greg Nickels as the civilian auditor of the police department’s Office of Professional Accountability (OPA). The current OPA civilian auditor, Kate Pflaumer, who has served since 2003, will complete her term of service at the end of May.

Under Seattle’s three-part system of police accountability, the auditor monitors investigations of citizen complaints related to police conduct, reviews trends and issues related to policing, and works closely with the director of OPA and the seven-member civilian OPA Review Board.

Judge Spearman will appear before the public safety committee on Tuesday, May 5, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. to discuss his background and credentials, and answer councilmember questions. The committee will vote on the confirmation after further deliberations on Tuesday, May 19, 2009. The full City Council will vote on the Committee’s recommendation on Tuesday, May 26, 2009.

Judge Spearman served as a King County Superior Court judge from 1993 to 2007. He is currently a mediator and arbitrator at Judicial Dispute Resolution. Judge Spearman has a J.D. from New York University School of Law and a B.A. in Political Science from Brown University.

Judge Spearman’s confirmation packet is available as a PDF at Councilmember Burgess’ website: www.seattle.gov/council/burgess.

The public is invited to comment on Judge Spearman’s appointment at the beginning of the public safety committee meetings on May 5 and May 19 and may also e-mail comments about the appointment to: tim.burgess@seattle.gov.

Council meetings are cablecast live on Seattle Channel 21 and Webcast live on the City Councils website at www.seattle.gov/council. Copies of legislation, archives of previous meetings, and news releases are available on www.seattle.gov/council. Questions about Council news releases can be directed to Kimberly Reason, Council Communications, at 206-684-8159, or by e-mail at kimberly.reason@seattle.gov.

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City Council