(Source: House Impeachment Managers video)
Kshama Sawant is calling on the Seattle City Council to call a special public hearing “to compel testimony and records from the Seattle Police Department” and investigate city cops who traveled to Washington D.C. on January 6th, the day a deadly mob stormed the Capitol.
“To date, there has been no accountability or transparency from either the Mayor’s office or from the Seattle Police Department about these officers, who traveled 3,000 miles to Washington D.C. to participate in a rally that was an attempt to overthrow a democratic election, a rally led by the far right and fascist elements that led to widespread destruction and the deaths of five people at the U.S. Capitol,” Sawant says in a statement released Wednesday as the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump moves forward in D.C.
Sawant says the council has the authority to conduct the hearing under the city charter.
“To be credible, this must be an open public hearing, with the public given the ability to ask questions of witnesses and review subpoenaed documents independently,” Sawant said in the statement.
The Seattle LGBTQ Commission and The Seattle Human Rights Commission have also called on the council to investigate.
In the days following the January 6th assault on the Capitol, SPD announced it was placing two officers on leave and launching its own investigation into their participation in the deadly day of protest, riot, and sedition. The department later said three more officers had come forward to admit traveling to D.C. but would remain on duty during the investigation. A sixth officer has since come forward to SPD officials.
None of the officers have been publicly identified. The Office of Police Accountability is investigating any officer involvement in illegal acts during the events at the Capitol.
In her statement, Sawant expressed her lack of confidence in the OPA.
“The past record of investigations by OPA of officer misconduct is dismal, to say the least,” Sawant said. “The public deserves answers that can only come from an open, public, and transparent investigation, and I am absolutely confident that no Office of Police Accountability (OPA) investigation will accomplish that.”
Any hearing on the matter would likely come through the council’s public safety committee chaired by Lisa Herbold, the body’s West Seattle representative. Sawant chairs the council’s Sustainability and Renters Rights Committee.
Council president and mayoral candidate Lorena González has said she was “deeply concerned” about the revelation that SPD officers had been in attendance in Washington D.C. but there have been no actions yet taken by the council related to the investigation.
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Hard to take seriously from the same person whom unlocked the doors at City Hall so protestors can disrupt a Council action.
2021 is a great year to get rid of all the Trumps, including “Discount Trump” Sawant.
Except when Sawant did that, it was because police were killing citizens. But yes, keep doing false equivalencies.
The First Amendment doesn’t only protect speech that you like. Sorry.
However, if these police actually broke the law, they should be punished.
Actually the police can be fired for first agreement protected speech, including racist posts on social media. In fact that is the main reason that SPD officers get fired.
Her intent doesn’t matter. Her actions do. She didn’t just inspire illegal entry, she opened the damn door for them.
Police were not killing citizens in Seattle
Sawant loves tactics just like she’s speaking out against. She’s a hypocrite to the highest order.
Nice distraction by Sawant. I expect to hear a lot of this sort of thing from her in the coming weeks.
Yet another offering from our “self-aggrandizer in chief” Sawant.
Yet another great zinger towards Sawant!
Your not-so-secret crush on her is adorbs :)
Two wrongs always seem to make things right for Sawant followers as well as Trumps. I leave it to Karma to be the judge.
Is it the same sockpuppet posting anti-Sawant garbage every time or what? Everyone had a chance to vote her out and the majority ruled. Sorry. How it goes. We like her here.
So you had the same opinion about Durkan? 60% of Seattle voted for her, sorry majority rules.
Some people like her, some people don’t. I don’t and I do know many people who don’t. I also know some people who do. The problem is that she doesn’t represent the entirety of her district. She only seems to care about the parts that fit in with her own beliefs. That’s no way to ‘lead’.
That’s the thing — legally in our state, second chances exist. Depending on the rulings, we might get another chance. If she is as approved of as you think she is, then she will maintain her position. If she isn’t, then the majority will have ruled in a more updated judgement (with new relevant information). It’s like saying, “Why impeach a FORMER president?” just like why recall Sawant AFTER she allegedly broke the rules of her position.
You like her here.
We have different opinions.
Uh, speak for yourself. Most don’t want her here
Her constituents do and voted her in twice. Deal with it.
Yes, right wing capitalists…I mean “moderates” around here like to get themselves heard online.
They all post here for their hyper local trolling needs since mynortwest closed their comment section.
people only hate sawant cuz she talks about anything other their than their precious “property” and “businessness” lmao government def needs to stop coddling white people scared of loosing their garbage and start focusing on creating a functioning society.
Yes! Yes! And YES! People who’ve been spoiled from the time they were born into protected wealthy families and, like spoiled rotten 2 year olds, throw tantrums when told it’s time to start sharing, need to be eradicated. In some places (I think it was Austria but could be wrong) they build all new multiple dwelling units so that people from the richest to the poorest live in the SAME building because income doesn’t make a person more or less deserving depending on amount. The fun thing is that they ALL report being happier with this new standard. Sounds good to me. Time for real social justice! :)
You don’t have to like Sawant (I don’t) to acknowledge she’s right about this. Any police officer so lacking in moral and ethical integrity that they would willingly fly across the country to attend a white nationalist event shouldn’t be on the force, whether they did anything illegal there or not. If the OPA can’t get rid of them, we need a new accountability mechanism that can.
Of course they should be investigated and fired if necessary, and the OPA should not be allowed to interfere in the process. But there doesn’t need to be a City Council hearing….that’s just Sawant grandstanding again.
I had to look it up to be sure, but turns out the OPA doesn’t operate based on the blog comment section musings of a very opinionated commentor.
The OPA’s description on the top of their webpage:
SPD officers traveling to an insurrection of white supremacists at the nation’s capitol seems like the epitome of what the OPA needs to get involved in.