Seattle police will begin implementing the nation’s first policy that governs the use of police patrol “ruses,” a statement an officer knows is not true but may be helpful to an investigation, according to city press release Monday.
“Effective public safety requires community buy-in, and this new policy is an important step to build understanding with the public, demonstrating that for Seattle Police Department (SPD) operations to be successful, they must be paired with a commitment to unbiased, constitutional policing,” said Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell.
The policy comes a few years after a Seattle officer’s ruse contributed to the suicide of a hit-and-run driver in 2018. Another controversial ruse was when officers created fake radio traffic to try and get protesters away from the CHAZ/CHOP zone in 2020. Harrell directed the SPD to develop the new policy because those cases undermined the public’s trust and confidence in police, according to the SPD.
“oh we’ll just make them think that a bunch of violent extremists are coming specifically to hurt them and they’ll scatter like the rats they are”
arms themselves against bodily harm instead
“wait not like that”