Office of Policing Accountability might come to Tacoma. How much power should it have?

Tacoma could get an Office of Policing Accountability thanks to a recommendation before the City Council, but some residents argue that the idea lacks teeth.

The city’s constitution, Tacoma’s charter, is getting updated this year, a process that happens every decade. The Charter Review Committee will soon present the City Council with a series of recommendations.

The committee wants to see the creation of an Office of Policing Accountability, which would offer independent oversight of the Tacoma Police Department, committee Chair Stephen Wamback told The News Tribune. Its director would be appointed and supervised by the City Council.

Other ideas backed by the committee include expanding term limits for the City Council and mayor, plus paving the way for ranked-choice voting .

Voters would get a chance to approve the policing recommendation should the City Council decide to put it on the November ballot. The office would help administer a civilian-complaint process and analyze use-of-force conduct, among other responsibilities, Wamback said.

Part two of the proposal would create an evolved version of the Community’s Police Advisory Committee called the Community Oversight Committee for Policing Accountability, Wamback said. It would prioritize matters of equity and social justice, as well as review, advise and report on the police-accountability office’s effectiveness and activities.

“The Oversight Committee would also have the power to advise the Chief of Police, the City Council, and the Mayor on opportunities for systemic improvement within the Tacoma Police Department,” according to the committee’s draft report. “This amendment aims to enhance accountability and transparency in police operations in Tacoma and end the practice of police investigating themselves.”

Nine committee members voted in favor of the recommendation, Wamback included, while one person voted against, another abstained and three were absent, according to the draft report . A final report is due to council on Tuesday but is scheduled for delivery the day before, Wamback said.

Proponents of the recommendation say it would work to improve local policing, but the committee’s lone dissenter contended that it would add unnecessary oversight and costs.

The News Tribune reached out to the Tacoma Police Department and the local police union for comment but did not receive responses.

Advocates push for Office of Policing Accountability

Tacoma resident Tonya Isabell told The News Tribune that she supports the Charter Review Committee’s recommendation. Her cousin, Charleena Lyles, was killed by Seattle police in 2017.

Lyles was a Black mother of four who was pregnant at the time of her death and struggled with mental health issues. Two officers said Lyles threatened them with a knife after she called to report a burglary. A review by Seattle police found that her shooting was necessary and in line with department policy and training.

Isabell said she got involved with a group called Washington Coalition for Police Accountability sometime after her cousin’s death. She also worked on Initiative 940 , a measure that requires officers to complete mental health and de-escalation training and lowered the threshold to prosecute officers who use lethal force.

The trial of three Tacoma police officers in the death of Manuel Ellis put I-940 to the test. Ellis died while in police custody in 2020 while handcuffed and hogtied. He repeatedly told the arresting officers that he couldn’t breathe. The three officers were acquitted.

“As long as police are investigating police, they’re never going to be accountable for when they do wrong,” Isabell said. “In order for us to get justification for when they take one of our loved ones’ lives, we have to take it out of their hands and have an open-minded person or organization that’s not under the blue code to investigate the accountability portion of it.”

Multiple residents during the review committee’s April 18 public comment section spoke in support of the police-accountability recommendation. Jonathan Pottle urged members to strengthen it, arguing that police “have repeatedly shown that they can’t be trusted with vulnerable people.”

While Pottle thinks the suggested office is a good start, he also contends that it should have firing and hiring power.

“Advising, recommending and reporting, these are good but they’re not enough,” Pottle told the Charter Review Committee. “The police have repeatedly shown that they will not adequately manage themselves.

“If this is possible — or even if it ain’t — I’m urging you to revise your recommendation and instead recommend an office of police accountability that can enforce actual accountability on the cops,” he continued.

Wamback told The News Tribune that although the committee heard that suggestion more than once, the ability to hire and fire would remain with the police chief, not the community: “The issues of hiring and firing are generally specified in collective bargaining agreements.”

The Tacoma municipal charter is up for review. It’s a once-in-a-decade process that could usher in significant changes to how the city operates. As part of its In the Spotlight initiative, The News Tribune is examining a number of proposed charter changes that could appear before the city’s voters in November.