Seattle Police Department
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Seattle Police Department | |
| Abbreviation | SPD |
 |
|
| Logo of the Seattle Police Department. | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1886 |
| Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction* | City of Seattle in the state of Washington, U.S. |
| Legal jurisdiction | Seattle, Washington |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Officers | 1300 |
| Agency executive | John Diaz, Acting Chief |
| Footnotes | |
| * Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction. | |
The Seattle Police Department (SPD) is the principal law enforcement agency of the city of Seattle, Washington, except for the campus of the University of Washington, for which responsibility falls to the University of Washington Police Department. It is nationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.
The Seattle Police Department has various specialty units including SWAT, bike patrol, harbor patrol, motorcycles, mounted patrols.
Law enforcement in Seattle began with the appointment of William H. ("Uncle Joe") Surber as town marshal in 1861. The SPD was officially organized on June 2, 1886. As of 2007 it has 1,285 sworn officers.
Contents |
[edit] Command Structure
The interim chief of the Seattle Police Department is John Diaz.
- Deputy Chief Clark Kimerer (Deputy Chief of Administration)
- Assistant Chief Dick Reed (Field Support Bureau)
- Assistant Chief Nick Metz (Patrol Operations Bureau)
- Assistant Chief Linda Pierce (Homeland Security Bureau)
- Assistant Chief Jim Pugel (Investigations Bureau)
[edit] Significant Events
In 1999, Seattle hosted the World Trade Organization (WTO) Conference. The Seattle Police Department was criticized for failing to properly prepare for the over 100,000 protesters that disrupted the conference. While the majority of protestors were not violent, some assaulted delegates and police, and destroyed property. The protest soon devolved into a riot. In response, SPD used chemical agents and less-lethal weapons in an attempt to restore order. News footage of this response and of the rioting was broadcast worldwide. Amazingly, not a single protester or police officer was injured seriously enough during the riot to require hospitalization. Chief Norm Stamper resigned amid the scrutiny of police response to the event.[1]
In 2001, riots broke out downtown during the Mardi Gras celebrations. The riots resulted in one death, more than 70 hospitalized, and 21 arrests. The Seattle Police Officers' Guild membership voted overwhelmingly "no confidence" in Chief Kerlikowske for his failure to take appropriate leadership action during the incident.
[edit] Bike Unit
In 2005 the department started testing the use of BlackBerry PDAs with bike patrol officers. These PDAs allowed officers on the streets access to police records when the use of regular mobile data computer is not available.[1]
[edit] Seattle Metropolitan Police Museum
The Seattle Metropolitan Police Museum is a museum in the Pioneer Square neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1997, it is dedicated to the history of the Seattle Police Department and of law enforcement in the Seattle metropolitan area. It claims to be the largest police museum in the western United States.
[edit] Fallen officers
Since the establishment of the Seattle Police Department, 58 officers have died in the line of duty. [2]
| Officer | Date of Death | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Police Officer David M. Sires |
|
Gunfire |
| Detective James L. Wells |
|
Gunfire |
| Police Officer Thomas L. Roberts |
|
Gunfire |
| Police Officer Enoch E. Breece |
|
Gunfire |
| Police Officer Albert C. Schaneman |
|
Gunfire |
| Police Officer Matthias H. Rude |
|
Assault |
| Police Officer Judson P. Davis |
|
Gunfire |
| Police Officer William Henry Cunliffe |
|
Gunfire |
| Police Officer Henry Lee Harris |
|
Gunfire |
| Police Officer Arthur K. Ruckart |
|
Gunfire |
| Patrolman Lawrence E. Kost |
|
Gunfire |
| Sergeant John F. Weedin |
|
Gunfire |
| Police Officer Robert R. Wiley |
|
Gunfire |
| Police Officer Edwin Wilson |
|
Motorcycle accident |
| Police Officer Volney L. Stevens |
|
Gunfire |
| Detective James J. O'Brien |
|
Gunfire |
| Police Officer William T. Angle |
|
Gunfire |
| Police Officer Neil McMillan |
|
Gunfire |
| Police Officer Charles O. Legate |
|
Assault |
| Police Officer Arthur B. Luntsford |
|
Gunfire |
| Police Officer Amos J. Comer |
|
Gunfire |
| Police Officer Robert L. Litsey |
|
Gunfire |
| Police Officer Fred Ivey |
|
Gunfire |
| Police Officer Lyle F. Tracy |
|
Gunfire (Accidental) |
| Police Officer Emory R. Sherard |
|
Gunfire |
| Police Officer Gene W. Perry |
|
Gunfire |
| Police Officer Walter G. Cottle |
|
Gunfire |
| Police Officer Harry E. S. Williams |
|
Gunfire |
| Police Officer Ralph H. Ahner |
|
Vehicle pursuit |
| Police Officer Ellsworth W. Cordes |
|
Motorcycle accident |
| Sergeant John S. Donlan |
|
Gunfire |
| Police Officer Olof F. Wilson |
|
Vehicular assault |
| Police Officer Trent A. Sickles |
|
Gunfire |
| Police Officer Theodore E. Stevens |
|
Gunfire |
| Special Officer Charles Creighton Clarke |
|
Gunfire |
| Police Officer Con B. Anderson |
|
Gunfire (Accidental) |
| Police Officer Frederick H. Hull |
|
Gunfire |
| Police Officer William T. Rumble |
|
Automobile accident |
| Detective Harry W. Vosper |
|
Gunfire |
| Police Officer John T. Clancy Jr. |
|
Vehicular assault |
| Police Officer Frank W. Hardy |
|
Gunfire |
| Police Officer James C. Brizendine |
|
Gunfire (Accidental) |
| Patrol Officer David P. Richards |
|
Motorcycle accident |
| Police Officer John E. Bartlett |
|
Struck by vehicle |
| Police Officer Robert R. Allshaw |
|
Gunfire (Accidental) |
| Sergeant Robert D. Ward |
|
Vehicular assault |
| Police Officer Fred Douglas Carr |
|
Gunfire |
| Police Officer James Melvin Forbes |
|
Aircraft accident |
| Police Officer James Howard St. DeLore |
|
Aircraft accident |
| Police Officer Dorian Lee Halvorson |
|
Gunfire |
| Police Officer Jerry Lee Wyant |
|
Motorcycle accident |
| Police Officer Nicholas Norman Davis |
|
Gunfire |
| Police Officer Dale E. Eggers |
|
Gunfire |
| Detective Antonio Martinez Terry |
|
Gunfire |
| Police Officer Kenneth L. Davis |
|
Vehicle pursuit |
| Detective Gary R. Lindell |
|
Animal related |
| Police Officer Jackson Vernon (Jack) Lone |
|
Drowned |
| Police Officer Joselito Alvarez Barber |
|
Vehicular assault |
| Field Training Officer Timothy Brenton |
|
Gunfire |
[edit] In Popular Culture
On the American television sitcom Frasier, Frasier's father Martin Crane was a Homicide Detective in the Seattle Police Department. Detective Crane was forced to retire after he was shot in the hip.
Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez starred as Seattle Police detectives in the films Stakeout and its sequel Another Stakeout.
In World in Conflict, the Seattle Police Department help the National Guard to fight back the Red Army's invasion of United States.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Rick Anderson (1999-01-12). "Protesters riot, police riot". Seattle Weekly. http://www.seattleweekly.com/1999-12-01/news/protesters-riot-police-riot&page=168. Retrieved 2009-12-06.
- ^ "Officer down". The Officer Down Memorial Page. http://odmp.org/agency/3514-seattle-police-department-washington.
[edit] External links
- Seattle Police Department
- Seattle: Police Accountability - Who Makes Public Policy? ACLU of Washington.
