* After three years in patrol, officers can become candidates to transfer to a wide variety of specialty units and are also eligible to attend a weeklong detective school.

Councilman Fred Hamley walked with the chief onto Fourth Avenue to an establishment that featured a roulette wheel and handed him an ax.

[13] In 1943, after many cases of soldiers returning to bases from Seattle with sexually transmitted diseases, the federal government threatened to take over policing in the city and enforce laws on prostitution and sex-work.

[23] In 1987, the Seattle Police Department created the modern mountain bike patrol units, paving the way for cities across North America to follow.

Organizationally, this was accomplished through the SPD's Real Time Crime Center, established in July 2015 using a combination of asset forfeiture funds and a federal government grant, which houses the technology, analytical support and command structure.

On Monday June 1 a much larger group of thousands marched from Westlake Plaza to the intersection of 11th Ave E and E Pine where the street was blockaded.

[32] On June 17, 2020, King County Labor Council delegates voted to expel the Seattle Police Officers Guild from the organization, following a demand pushed by many protesters.

[41] In June 1901, Police Chief William L. Meredith was forced to resign by a Seattle City Council investigation that found he had taken bribes and allowed illegal gambling operations to flourish.

[44] Former homicide detective, Earl “Sonny” Davis, was accused of stealing at least $11,400 on Oct. 1, 1996, from the belongings of an elderly man, Bodegard Mitchell, who was fatally shot by police during a standoff at a South Seattle apartment.

[50] Former detective Dale Nixdorf resigned after an OPA investigation sustained a complaint claiming that he sexually harassed and assaulted a woman who sought help after a domestic violence incident in 2003.

Over the next couple weeks, Nixdorf allegedly called and visited her home repeatedly, claiming to be checking on the security system while making sexually aggressive comments and asking for sex each time.

[56][57] Birk resigned from the department, though prosecutor Dan Satterberg declined to file charges, prompting a protest by Williams' family and supporters.

[58] In 2010, detectives from SPD's Gang Unit ordered two Latino men suspected of committing a crime to lie on the ground, where they were kicked and verbally assaulted; the incident was captured on a bystander's cellphone video.

[61] In December 2011, the SPD was subject to a U.S. Department of Justice investigation that found officers had violated the 14th Amendment and the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.

[70] In March 2015, Officer Peter Leutz was fired after an investigation found that he sent three women he met on duty over 100 text messages in pursuit of romantic relationships.

In a written letter to Leutz, Police Chief Kathleen O'Toole wrote that he engaged in "serious and repeated abuse of authority, and an unsettling pattern of behavior, some of it directed at women who [he] knew from the outset, or learned early on, may have been especially vulnerable given turmoil in their personal lives.

"[71][72] In November 2016, Officer Adley Shepherd was fired after he punched a drunk, handcuffed woman who kicked him while he was putting her into the back of his police car.

An arbitrator on the Disciplinary Review Board later attempted to reduce the firing to a 15-day suspension, but was overruled by a King County Superior Court judge.

[76] In July 2018, officers Kenneth Martin and Tabitha Sexton were fired after an October 2017 incident in which they shot 27 rounds into a fleeing car in Eastlake.

[78] In February 2019, the city agreed to pay Alonzo Price-Holt $100,001, as well as $58,989 in attorney fees, to settle a federal lawsuit that alleged excessive use of force by Officer Zsolt Dornay.

"[81][82] In February 2020, Officer Todd Novisedlak was fired after an investigation by the OPA which cited his physically abusing his ex-girlfriend, his marijuana use, and his repeatedly making discriminatory and derogatory remarks against others based on race, sexual orientation, and gender.

[91] SPD officers Alexander Everett and Caitlin Rochelle, a married couple, were later fired after an OPA investigation found that they trespassed onto Capitol grounds during the attack.

[92][93] In September 2021, the city of Seattle settled a lawsuit for $250,000 after officers entered the home of a 74-year-old man during a 2019 welfare check, held him at gunpoint, and forcefully arrested him.

[104][105] In January 2023, Officer Kevin Dave,[106] responding to an overdose call, struck and killed 23-year-old student Jaahnavi Kandula as she was crossing Dexter Avenue in a marked crosswalk on Thomas Street.

[109] In September 2023, SPD released body camera footage showing Seattle Police Officer Daniel Auderer discussing Kandula's death one day after she died; he stated: "she's dead", laughs, then says: "it's a regular person ... just write a check, $11,000, she was 26 anyway, she had limited value.

[113] In July 2023, a lawsuit related to the 2020 George Floyd protests surfaced video captured on police body-worn camera in SPD's East Precinct showing a "Trump 2020" flag prominently displayed in a precinct break room, along with a mock tombstone marking the death of Damarius Butts, a 19-year-old Black man killed by the department in 2017.

[114] In September 2023, The Stranger published an audio recording of Officer Burton Hill using racist slurs and sexist language at his elderly Chinese-American neighbor.

The SPD authorizes numerous pistols for carry, including ones made by Glock, Smith & Wesson, Springfield Armory, Inc., Heckler & Koch, Walther, Beretta, SIG-Sauer and Ruger.

Specialty units including SWAT utilize select fire suppressed rifles (typically an AR variant), HK MP5 SMG's, shotguns and sniper weapon systems.

It claimed to be the largest police museum in the western United States until its closure in 2017 due to safety concerns because of the ongoing waterfront tunnel project.