Seattle asks court to end 13 years of federal oversight of police

Mike Carter, The Seattle Times on Jul 8, 2025

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The city of Seattle filed motions in U.S. District Court on Tuesday asking for the end of more than 13 years of federal oversight of the Seattle Police Department.

The Seattle Police Department "has achieved and sustained compliance with all requirements of the consent decree," the city wrote in motions filed with U.S. District Judge James Robart. As a result, the city claims that "the pattern and practice of unconstitutional force alleged by the U.S. Department of Justice have been eliminated."

In 2012, the city reached a settlement agreement under threat of lawsuit by the Department of Justice following a scathing investigation the year before that found Seattle police officers routinely used excessive force, most often against people in crisis. The investigation also found evidence of biased policing.

In the ensuing years, the department has adopted sweeping changes to many of its policies, including stringent guidelines on when officers can use force, and implemented a trio of outside accountability agencies to investigate and monitor those changes. Mayor Bruce Harrell, in a written statement Tuesday, said the city has asked the court to end its oversight "based on SPD's strong record of improving training, policies, practices and accountability.

The motion notes that the Police Department has seen a 60% reduction in the use of serious force by officers between 2011 and 2017, as mentioned in a report by a court-appointed monitor.

Along with the motion to terminate the settlement agreement — often called a consent decree — the city in a separate filing is also asking the court to accept the latest revisions to its crowd control ordinance, which had been the final stumbling block the city faced in ending oversight of the Police Department.

No hearing date has been set to consider the motions.

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