DECLARATION TO SEATTLE POLICE DEPARTMENT

It seems as though many residents of this city struggle to make connections between
what's happening in Ferguson and what happens in Seattle, even though members of our own
police department commemorate the Ferguson Police for their extrajudicial killing of Michael
Brown. For example, Sergeant Christopher Hall of the Seattle Police Department changed his
Facebook profile picture to a police badge that says, "Officer Darren Wilson I Stand By You," as
well as linked his Facebook friends to the Darren Wilson donation page. Sergeant Hall did this
on August 20th at 3:43 PM, one day after the murder of Michael Brown. (Brown, unarmed and
with his hands raised in the air, was shot to death by Officer Wilson.)
Some are under the impression that Seattle is some sort of liberal Utopia where police
brutality does not exist, despite the fact that the Seattle Police Department was under the
investigation of the United States Department of Justice within the last three years for
excessive force and concerns of discriminatory policing. The Department of Justice Findings
Letter stated
"This perception is rooted in a number of factors, including negative street encounters,
recent well-publicized videos of force being used against people of color, incidents of
overt discrimination, and concerns that the pattern of excessive force disproportionately
affects minorities."
The Seattle Police Department has afforded it's officers a "Perspectives in Profiling" class which
aims to prevent racial profiling; however, SPD Officer Steve Pomper writes in the SPD's
newspaper The Guardian, "The city, using its Race and Social Justice Initiative, continues its
assault on traditional and constitutional American values such as self-reliance, equal justice,
and individual liberty." Officer Pomper urges officers to "take the City's use of Social Justice
terminology and implementation of policy seriously and oppose it in every legal way possible.".
Another Officer Clayton Powell wrote in The Guardian newspaper about referring to citizens he
interacts with as bitch, motherfucker, and nigga and says "If I can communicate with someone
in their primary language... it makes me a more effective officer... Learn to accept and
appreciate the direct method of in--your--face communication." With all of this evidence of
misconduct in the Seattle Police Department we as students of color at Garfield High School
have decided to make a statement about the state of our citys police department because we
understand that in order to affect nationwide change we must first take a look at our own city.
Garfield High School's Black Student Union, in alliance with fellow BSUs and youth of
color in Seattle stand in solidarity with the people of Ferguson and with all victims of racial
profiling and police brutality. We're congregating in front of SPD East Precinct to assert our
rejection of the police force here and nationwide, because we know "protect and serve" does
not apply to us just as "All men are created equal" did not apply to our ancestors, nor we their
descendants. Though some may argue "not all cops", when you put on that uniform you are no
longer an individual but another force upholding a system of oppression. The same system
whose origins of American policing are in Runaway Slave Patrol, the entire establishment is
rooted in White supremacy and feeds on anti-blackness.
Today we are here to say that we will no longer compromise with those without a
conscience, we will no longer beg & plea for you to recognize our humanity. We will no longer
demand reform of the 'broken system' because it is functioning exactly as its supposed to.
Until the people can revolutionize this corrupt institution altogether, we will take justice into
our own hands. We the people will police the police.
In order to achieve our goals of accountability and community autonomy, especially for and
among communities of color, we are referring to the goals and action plans outlined by the
Berkeley chapter of Copwatch.
Berkeley Copwatch's Goals are:
1) Reduce police violence by directly observing the police on the street, documenting incidents
and keeping police accountable. We maintain principles of non-violence while asserting the
rights of the detained person. We provide support to victims whenever possible. We also seek
to educate the public about their rights, police conduct in the community and issues related to
the role of police in our society.
2) Empower and unite the community to resist police abuse. We will do this by sharing
information with the community, conducting "Know Your Rights" trainings, sponsoring rallies,
supporting victims and other community based efforts to deal with the problem.
4) Most importantly, we encourage people to exercise their right to observe the police and to
advocate for one another.


Warning' by Langston Hughes
"Negroes, Sweet and docile, Meek, humble, and kind: Beware the day They change their mind.