The Seattle city council voted to cut the budget of the Police department. I covered the cuts here along with the resignation of the Chief, Carmen Best.
Now it seems there may be more obstacles to the cuts. In 2012 the city entered into a consent decree with the Department of Justice. That decree effectively gives the feds a significant measure of control over any changes to the police force in Seattle.
There’s more though. Whenever a city enters into a consent decree, the courts get involved. The courts are where any and all determinations about the decree are made. And the judge presiding over the Seattle decree, James Robart, has already warned the council to pump the brakes.
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Shortly after the council passed the cuts, he wrote “the court encourages the city of Seattle to remain mindful of its consent decree obligation”.