Seattle Public Safety Committee Special Meeting on Community Violence Intervention – April 24, 2026
Seattle Public Safety Committee Special Meeting on Community Violence Intervention – April 24, 2026
The special meeting of the Seattle City Council Public Safety Committee, chaired by Councilmember Robert Kettle, convened on April 24, 2026 at 9:34 a.m. and adjourned at 11:05 a.m. The meeting focused on addressing public safety challenges in neighborhoods like Little Saigon and North Beacon Hill, and included a briefing on strengthening Seattle's Community Violence Intervention (CVI) ecosystem. Agenda item one (Seattle Neighborhood Impact Framework) was removed and rescheduled for June 2026. Public comment featured 13 speakers, many advocating for resources for victims of police violence.
Chair Report
- Chair Kettle opened with remarks on a recent Seattle Times article titled "Amid Seattle's Neglect," citing 518 drug-related incidents across the city over the past month and noting that such numbers can occur in a single night. He emphasized that neighborhoods like Little Saigon, 12th & Jackson, and Third & Pike are in crisis, and criticized the city's "two minds" approach—compassion for neighbors in crisis without balanced focus on neighborhoods in crisis. He called for improved alternative response, addressing drug markets, and accountability in the criminal justice system. He also outlined an updated strategic framework for a safer Seattle with new pillars on gun violence prevention and addressing the seam between public safety, public health, housing, and human services.
- Councilmember Eddie Lin added an addendum, noting the connection between Little Saigon and North Beacon Hill, and the failure of multiple levels of government to address the drug crisis, mental health, and homelessness. He pointed out that overdose deaths, which are orders of magnitude larger than gun violence deaths, are not receiving the same urgent attention.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Jeff Silverman (Haller Lake Emergency Hub captain, speaking personally) urged the city to plan for large-scale disaster drills, citing the 9/11 Pentagon communications failure and the need for alternate communication methods.
- Castile Hightower (family member of Herbert Hightower Jr., killed by SPD) demanded resources for victims of police violence and an independent office to support families. She asked Councilmembers for a yes/no commitment to pass a resolution creating such an office.
- Lucky Jordan argued for transformative justice over punitive or restorative justice, and called for the city to honor the 2023–2024 council budget actions that committed $100,000 to convene survivors of police violence.
- Scott Buzzard (American Party of Labor) condemned the city for increasing police surveillance and militarization instead of funding support for victims of police violence, citing specific incidents of SPD violence.
- Craig Thompson (North Beacon Hill resident) thanked Councilmember Lin for the public safety hearing on Beacon Hill that drew 250–300 people. He called for an interagency task force (city, county, state) that includes law enforcement, outreach, and public services, and urged immediate action rather than further study.
- Genevieve Courtney (North Beacon Hill) described the neighborhood's deterioration over the past nine months, noting that power washing in Little Saigon pushed drug use into Beacon Hill, including near a child care center and senior housing. She reported seeing fentanyl smoking on the air intake of her daughter's child care center, a man with a gun dealing drugs, and her husband delivering Narcan. She urged the city to stop power washing and create an interagency task force, and shared stories of neighbors helped by arrest and forced programs.
- Julie Rawls MD (CID) apologized for a prior letter criticizing SPD, explaining that the real bottleneck is the county jail and public health system, not SPD. She supported an interagency task force.
- Howard Gale challenged Chair Kettle's earlier characterization of SPD policy regarding ICE, arguing that the actual policy only requires officers to attempt to validate federal officer status when safe and feasible, not to confirm probable cause. He expressed concern about SPD's stance on immigration enforcement.
- JC (survivor of police violence) demanded justice and accountability for community members brutalized by SPD during a protest, and called for an affected persons program.
- Yavet Denish criticized Mayor Wilson for solving a transit issue but not addressing the chaos at 12th & Jackson. She proposed 24/7 paid security at that intersection and using vacant buildings as temporary staging areas.
- Gabriel Diaz (survivor of police violence) described the aftermath of being beaten by police, including physical pain, financial strain, and trauma. He called for an office for victims of police violence.
- Bennett Hazelton responded to a previous speaker's racial remarks, condemning them and calling for more care and intervention to prevent hate.
- M Smith (Labor Militant) spoke in favor of the affected persons program, citing average funeral costs of $8,500 and hospitalization costs of $45,000. He demanded full compensation for victims and urged the council to cut the SPD budget to fund these services.
- Remote speakers:
- Amari Davis (they/them) noted that black mothers still mourn sons killed by SPD, and criticized the 16% SPD budget increase in 2024 while cutting affordable housing and social services. They demanded funding for black communities instead of the police.
- Wendy Yim (lives near Virginia Mason's shelter) criticized the city and county for wasting billions on ineffective shelter contracts, citing $13 million unaccounted by KCHRA. She urged the council to fix shelter contracts before implementing new programs like the Seattle Neighborhood Impact Framework.
- David Haynes accused the city of repeating failed policies, including exempting drug pushers from jail and wasting money on corrupt nonprofits. He claimed the city attorney is not prosecuting misdemeanor drug crimes, and that the mayor’s office has not acted on audit findings.
Discussion Items
- Briefing: Opportunities to Strengthen Seattle’s Community Violence Intervention Ecosystem (45 minutes)
- Presenter: DeVitta Briscoe, consultant and former gun violence prevention liaison under Mayor Harrell.
- Key points:
- Gun violence is highly concentrated, predictable, and preventable. 60% of gun violence is predicted through social network analysis; 40% of those shot are injured or killed again within five years; less than 2-3% of individuals are responsible for about 80% of violence.
- CVI is a public health approach addressing proximate and root causes, not a replacement for law enforcement but a complement.
- Seattle aligns on public health framing but lags in governance, oversight, and coordination. The current CVI landscape is fragmented, with multiple investments operating without shared executive ownership.
- Successful cities (e.g., New York, Newark, Oakland) build governance structures, data dashboards, professionalized workforce, and neighborhood hubs. They phase in planning, infrastructure, pilot, evaluation, and scaling.
- Key needed capacities: leadership, data-informed approaches, inter-agency collaboration, and infrastructure to sustain reductions.
- Councilmember Lynn: Observed that silos and lack of collaboration are problems, and that the city needs to work in partnership with community and SPD, not be hands-off. He stressed the importance of solving homicides to prevent retaliation.
- Ms. Briscoe responded: Emphasized a "healthy coexistence" rather than partnership between CVI teams and police, with co-training and clear roles. She noted that police legitimacy directly affects homicide rates.
- Chair Kettle: Highlighted that the need for governance and executive ownership is clear from the presentation, and noted that the 2020 CARE ordinance and the city auditor’s report (with four recommendations) already call for this. He expressed frustration that implementation has lagged, and pledged to work with the mayor's office and stakeholders.
- Chair Kettle also noted that data shows Beacon Hill emerging as a priority neighborhood, which aligns with public testimony.
Key Outcomes
- Agenda item one (Seattle Neighborhood Impact Framework) was removed and will be heard in the June 2026 committee meeting due to quorum challenges.
- Agenda item two (Opportunities to Strengthen Seattle’s Community Violence Intervention Ecosystem) was heard and discussed as an information item.
- Chair Kettle committed to follow up with the mayor's public safety advisor and stakeholders to advance a coordinated CVI ecosystem, building on existing ordinances and audit recommendations.
- No formal votes were taken; the meeting was a briefing and discussion.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning, the public safety committee meeting will come to order. It's 9 34 a.m., April 24, 2026. I'm Robert Kettle, Chair of the Public Safety Committee. Will the committee clerk please call the roll? Councilmember Raz. Councilmember Lynn? Yes. Here. Councilmember Rivera. Councilmember Saka. Chair Kettle. Here. Chair, there are three members present. Thank you. Good morning, everyone. This morning we'll start with a chair comment. And the chair comment will be focused on the to start with a recent article in the Seattle Times talking about Little Saigon. The title of it is Amid Seattle's Neglect. The recent Seattle Times article with a title that gets to the point immediately. Starting with the stat of a hundred 518 drug-related incidents across the city over the past month. That point, it should be noted that this number could be reached in a single night, definitely over a weekend, and most of the impacted neighborhoods, like 12th Jackson and King, Third Pike and Pine, Third and Blanchard, Second and Lenora, and others. These neighborhoods are impacted all across seven districts, and they're all well known. And in fact, the data that's behind that has been used basis of legislation. And so is the point that once you have a drug market, then you also have a stolen goods market and more. In the article in Seattle Times, it was noted that it's becoming an embarrassment for the city, says Ms. Tanya Nguyen, and it is. Again, all across our city. To Ms. Ms. Nguyen's comment that we're about, you know, losing interest. I would say that we are not losing interest in you and your neighborhood. This goes to some of the work that we're doing here today and over the next couple months, and it builds on the work that I've been doing with our colleagues to include Councilmember Lynn. And to their point that the city has not done anything. In one sense, she's correct. Little Saigon is not improved. Why is that? We do, however, have efforts ongoing. And to close on the article, I wanted to highlight one sentence towards the end. But it is alarming how little effect it seems to have. I think it's important for us as a council and us as a city to reflect on that one sentence. But it is alarming how little effect it seems to have. Because again, these neighborhoods to include Little Saigon are suffering. I point to the idea that you know, we as a city, we as a city government, definitely, are of two minds. And this is a problem. There is a lack of balance with the singular focus on our neighbors in crisis, and we should have that focus, and we should lead with that focus with compassion. But there's not a companion focused on our neighborhoods that are also in crisis. We need to understand that our neighborhoods are in crisis, as noted in the article with Little Saigon. There is a lack of leadership that is sustained with an element of follow-up and follow through. This is a problem. There's a lack of implementation at times by the executive and sometimes by the judicial branch of ordinances passed into law.
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