Seattle City Council approves 17% cut to police department's budget

The Seattle City Council approved a plan to cut the budget of the Seattle Police Department by 17 percent next year, while rejecting a proposed hiring freeze.

A budget committee of the council voted against a hiring freeze proposed by Councilmembers Kshama Sawant and Tammy Morales on Thursday, which would have redirected just over $9 million from police to "community-led public safety investments."

However, the committee approved budget cuts while amending Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan's proposed 2021 police budget. The cuts would eliminate 93 positions within the department that are already vacant, while 35 officers currently employed would be laid off by next summer.

Under the plan to pause police hiring, 51 of the 1,311 officers that the department now expects to employ by the end of 2021 would not have been hired. The council rejected the proposal with a 7-2 vote. They also rejected a proposal from Morales that would have reduced hiring by 50 percent in a 6-2 vote, with one abstention.