The process continues to play out for the Office of Police Accountability to make its way through thousands of complaints against the Seattle Police Department after months of protests and demonstrations in the city. The OPA last week released a second batch of decisions in protest-related cases including findings of police misconduct. The findings also illustrate the value of body worn video in monitoring police conduct.

Seattle City Council Insight examined the latest reports including one sustained finding that officer use of force in a June 7th protest was “reasonable and necessary, but it was not proportional given that the demonstrator was not physically resisting and was not a physical threat.”

In another case that took place in the East Precinct on an early June night of marching from the Central District to Pike/Pine, the OPA dismissed a complaint that a woman had been falsely arrested and subjected to biased policing after she crossed a police barricade:

The OPA said (PDF) it did not find evidence of bias and that the woman was the only person to cross the barricade. “This provides additional evidence supporting the conclusion that she was taken into custody because she violated a lawful order, not because of her race,” the OPA report reads.

Many of the findings in the latest rounds of OPA decision included review of officer-worn body camera video illustrating the value of the technology in helping to monitor police conduct.

SPD has not publicly announced any disciplinary measures for officers involved in cases with complaints sustained by OPA.

You can read about the rest of the just released findings here.

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