Through the Static

By Hannah Saunders

Since stepping into office, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson has been stonewalling community members who are victims and survivors of police violence and brutality, and after going unheard for months, they are demanding action. After meetings have been cancelled on them, and after Seattle City Councilmembers have ghosted them, a group that includes victims who have been pushing for these types of resources for decades has written a letter to officials demanding they create a citywide office or department that’s dedicated to providing direct resources for victims of police violence, and to remove barriers to police accountability.

“The city of Seattle has systemically dismissed the lived experiences of victims of Police violence. This includes both direct victims, such as those upon whom police have enacted direct bodily harm, and indirect victims, such as family members of those killed by police. Despite clear and tangible demands from victims in our community, the city has refused to divert resources for pathways to healing, accountability, and support in the aftermath of life-altering brutality,” according to the letter. 

The group stated that Mayor Wilson and the Council can carry out former Mayor Bruce Harrell’s harmful legacy by creating barriers to lifesaving care, or they can finally address SPD harm and brutality by listening to those most impacted by it. The letter notes that in 2022 and again in 2023, the Seattle City Council passed legislation within the Seattle City Budget to create a workgroup that looked at creating an office to provide direct resources to victims of police violence, or the Seattle Affected Persons Program. Some of those resources would have included medical bills, travel, burial and funeral expenses, mental healthcare, housing, loss of wages, childcare, attorney, investigator fees, and more. 

“The legislation were chances for the city to hold itself accountable for the actions of Police officers and the policies elected officials uphold, while directly addressing the brutality that has continued even while under federal consent decree. But instead of allowing this important work to succeed or even merely attempt to exist, both times the city chose to continue to maintain the status quo and shamefully cut the workgroup in order to increase police budgets,” the letter stated. 

While officers who are violent and cause harm are placed on paid administrative leave, victims and families, who are overwhelmingly members of historically marginalized communities, carry the emotional and financial burdens and are often retraumatized through the bureaucratic process. 

“Demanding that our humanity be recognized through tangible solutions while unapologetically rejecting political tokenization is how we create conditions where communities survive and the inherent value of human life is uplifted,” according to the letter.

By the end of this April, the group is demanding that the Mayor and City Councilmembers create a timeline that includes monthly reporting of ongoing meetings with victims of police violence to talk about the creation of permanent resources and the removal of barriers to police accountability. By the end of September, 2026, the group is demanding the Mayor and City Councilmembers implement a permanent citywide office or department that is dedicated to providing direct resources to victims of police violence. 

You can sign-on to the letter here. 

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