Office of Professional Accountability

SEA-MC tit. 3, subtit. II, ch. 3.28, subch. VII

in effect

Seattle Mun. Code ch. 3.28, subch. VII, § 3.28.800 Office of Professional Accountability created—Functions and authority.

3.28.800 - Office of Professional Accountability created—Functions and authority. There is created within the Seattle Police Department an Office of Professional Accountability (hereinafter "OPA") to receive and investigate complaints of misconduct by Seattle Police Department personnel. The responsibilities of the OPA include the following areas: regularly advising the Chief, as well as the Mayor and City Council, on all matters involving the Police Department's investigatory and disciplinary functions and on Police Department policies and practices related to police accountability and professional conduct; evaluating the internal investigation process; and, making recommendations on strategies and policies to improve complaint gathering and investigative procedures. (Ord. 122744, § 1, 2008; Ord. 120728 § 2(part), 2002.)

Seattle Mun. Code ch. 3.28, subch. VII, § 3.28.805 Definitions.

3.28.805 - Definitions. A. "OPA complaint" refers to a complaint assigned to the Office of Professional Accountability for investigation. B. "OPA investigation" and "complaint investigation" refer to an investigation of an OPA complaint conducted by the Office of Professional Accountability. (Ord. 122744, § 2, 2008; Ord. 120728 § 2(part), 2002.)

Seattle Mun. Code ch. 3.28, subch. VII, § 3.28.810 Office of Professional Accountability—Director.

3.28.810 - Office of Professional Accountability—Director. The Director of the OPA is responsible for the investigative and administrative functions of the police disciplinary process and shall manage the overall investigative, training, and administrative functions of the OPA. The OPA Director shall: A. Be a civilian with legal, investigative, or prosecutorial experience; B. Be appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council; C. Be appointed for a three year term, with the possibility of being reappointed to a second or third three year term, for a maximum of nine years. D. Report directly to the Chief of Police; E. Be paid at a salary consistent with the level of responsibility established in this section and as provided by ordinance; F. Direct the OPA investigative process, classify all complaints, certify in writing the completion and recommended findings of all OPA cases, and convey these recommendations to the Chief of Police, who is the final Police Department decision maker in disciplinary actions; G. Attend employee due process hearings with the Chief of Police concerning possible employee discipline resulting from OPA recommendations; H. Provide analysis and recommendations to the Chief of Police regarding disciplinary action in order to promote consistency of discipline; I. Provide recommendations to the Chief of Police, Mayor and City Council regarding the resources of the OPA, including but not limited to budget and staffing; and J. Provide recommendations to the Chief of Police, Major and City Council regarding Police Department policies and practices related to police accountability and professional conduct. (Ord. 122744, § 3, 2008; Ord. 120728 § 2(part), 2002.)

Seattle Mun. Code ch. 3.28, subch. VII, § 3.28.812 Office of Professional Accountability—Explanations of Certain Complaint Dispositions.

3.28.812 - Office of Professional Accountability—Explanations of Certain Complaint Dispositions. A. If the Chief of Police decides not to follow the OPA's written recommendation on the disposition of an OPA complaint, the Chief shall make a written statement of the material reasons for the decision. The statement shall not contain the officer's name or any personal information about the officer. If the basis for not sustaining the complaint is personal, family or medical information about the officer, the statement shall refer to "personal information" as the basis. The Chief shall make the written statement within 60 days of his or her final decision on the disposition of the complaint. B. If no discipline results from an OPA complaint because an investigation time limit specified in a collective bargaining agreement between the City and the subject employee's bargaining unit has been exceeded, within 60 days of the final disposition of the complaint investigation the OPA Director shall make a written explanation of the nature of the allegations in the complaint and the reason or reasons the time limit was exceeded. This requirement applies whether the OPA recommends that the complaint be sustained or declines to make a recommendation because the time limit has been exceeded. The written explanation shall be included in the OPA case file. C. The written explanations required by Subsections A and B of this Section shall not identify or divulge personal information about the subject officer or officers or anyone else involved in the complaint and shall be subject to any applicable confidentiality requirements in state or federal law. The explanations shall not affect any discipline decisions; as specified in Seattle Municipal Code 3.28.810 Subsection F, the Chief of Police remains the final Police Department decision maker in disciplinary actions. D. The written explanations required by Subsections A and B of this Section shall be provided to the Mayor and City Council. The OPA Director shall include summaries of these explanations in the reports required by Seattle Municipal Code 3.28.825. The summaries shall not identify or divulge personal information about the subject officer or officers or anyone else involved in the complaint and shall be subject to any applicable confidentiality requirements in state or federal law. (Ord. 122744, § 4, 2008; Ord. 122513, § 1, 2007.)

Seattle Mun. Code ch. 3.28, subch. VII, § 3.28.815 OPA Deputy Director.

3.28.815 - OPA Deputy Director. The Chief of Police shall, with a recommendation from the OPA Director, appoint the OPA Deputy Director from among the sworn Captain ranks of the Seattle Police Department. The OPA Deputy Director, as overseen by the Director, shall oversee the day-to-day management of the OPA investigative process, employing the best and most effective OPA investigations practices. (Ord. 120728 § 2(part), 2002.)

Seattle Mun. Code ch. 3.28, subch. VII, § 3.28.820 OPA procedures manual.

3.28.820 - OPA procedures manual. The Police Department shall produce an OPA procedures manual, which shall include instructions for filing a complaint with OPA, and which shall be made available to members of the public, as well as Police Department personnel. (Ord. 120728 § 2(part), 2002.)

Seattle Mun. Code ch. 3.28, subch. VII, § 3.28.825 Reports.

3.28.825 - Reports. A. The Director shall issue at least two reports per year to the Mayor and City Council describing the work of the OPA and making recommendations for policy changes as determined by the Director. Each year at least one of the Director's reports shall report the following: 1. The total number of complaints received by the Office of Professional Accountability; 2. The number of complaints by classification and nature of allegation; 3. The percentage of complaints resulting in each kind of finding, namely, sustained, not sustained, unfounded, supervisory intervention or exonerated; 4. The nature of disciplinary action taken in sustained cases; 5. The geographic distribution of complaints; 6. The racial, ethnic and gender distributions of complainants, as this information is provided voluntarily by complainants; 7. The racial, ethnic, gender, assignment and seniority distributions of officers who are subjects of complaints; 8. The number of officers who have received three or more sustained complaints within one year; and 9. The timeliness of OPA complaint handling. B. The OPA Director and OPA staff may meet with citizens and community groups to solicit community input on policies and practices related to police accountability. C. The OPA Director shall make available to the OPA Auditor and OPA Review Board information necessary for their respective auditing and reporting functions as set forth in this chapter. (Ord. 122744, § 5, 2008; Ord. 120728 § 2(part), 2002.)

Seattle Mun. Code ch. 3.28, subch. VII, § 3.28.830 Confidentiality of files and records.

3.28.830 - Confidentiality of files and records. The Director shall, in the case of unsustained complaints, prepare a summary of the investigation, including a description of the number of witnesses interviewed, the investigative methods employed, and a brief explanation of why the complaint was not sustained. The Director shall provide a copy of the summary to the complainant. The Director shall protect the confidentiality of Department files and records to which s/he has been provided access to the extent permitted by applicable law, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, and in the same manner and to the same degree as s/he would be obligated to protect attorney-client privileged materials under legal and ethical requirements. The Director shall also be bound by the confidentiality provisions of the Criminal Records Privacy Act (RCW Chapter 10.97) and Public Disclosure Act (RCW Section 42.17.250 et seq.) The Director shall not identify the subject of an investigation in any public report required by this chapter. (Ord. 120728 § 2(part), 2002.)

Source: City of Seattle, Seattle Municipal Code and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/wa/seattle/codes/municipal_code?nodeId=TIT3AD_SUBTITLE_IIDEOF_CH3.28PODE_SUBCHAPTER_VIIOFPRACFetched: 11/1/2026