Top cop criticizes police culture in Washington: Today So Far

• Former King County Sheriff Sue Rahr says police culture has to change for progress to be made.
• King County and Seattle are dropping a Covid vaccine requirement.
• Someone in Washington has a winning Powerball ticket.

This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for February 7, 2023.

Years ago, I was in a Kansas City BBQ joint and found myself chatting with a local police officer. The conversation started over an agreement that "The Wire" was the best show we've seen on TV. He went further and said that it was the best representation of police culture on screen.

"Ya know, it doesn't always make cops look all that great," I said.

"Uh huh," he responded.

The comment I remember most from that conversation is that, in his opinion, the patrol car had a very negative effect on officers. He said that officers don't get out in their communities. Instead, they stay in a car where they live in an us-versus-them mentality. It was them inside the car, and everybody else out there. The nuance, the reality, was lost.

I thought of that interaction while listening to Sue Rahr's conversation with KUOW about cultural issues plaguing police departments far and wide. She worked her way through the ranks at the King County Sheriff's Office before becoming the county's first female sheriff in 2005. She went on to lead Washington's Criminal Justice Training Commission in 2012. After serving, leading, and training, Rahr says she learned a few lessons too late, and now wants new recruits to learn them from the start.

"What I told the class of (recent) recruits is, 'This is the best time to go into policing. We are at the front end of a changing era in policing. This is a time where people who really are motivated to make their communities better, to improve safety, we're on the brink of getting better at doing that.' I believe that with every fiber of my being," Rahr said.

This "changing era in policing" deals with a police culture that Rahr says has to change.

"The mythology is about fighting a war between good and evil, and so being a warrior is very consistent with that. Also, being a warrior, particularly for young men, that's a wonderful identity to say, 'I'm a mighty warrior, I'm strong, and I'm capable.' I also think during the '80s and '90s when politically it was very popular to be tough on crime, the warrior mentality fit into that. Post–9/11, when we had all kinds of excess military equipment, the convergence of all these factors came together to really fan the flames of making frontline police officers look like and operate like the military."

Rahr says she now has the benefit of hindsight.

"I realize why this all keeps coming out so wrong, because the premise is false. Just simply arresting lots of people and putting them in jail is not what contributes to community safety."

Check our Rahr's recent column in The Atlantic here. And check out her full conversation with KUOW here.

Another pandemic era policy is fading away. King County and the city of Seattle are dropping their Covid vaccine requirements for employment. The policy for public employees was put in place in 2021.

“The vaccine mandate was an effective and necessary tool for protecting the health and safety of City workers and the public we serve,” Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said in a statement.

Some called the vaccine mandate controversial. It did result in the county losing about 2% of employees, and the city losing about 1%. So, not a lot. Why even mention it if it barely affected anyone? County Executive Dow Constantine said that the move is part of the changing nature of the pandemic.

“With high vaccination rates and effective, updated boosters available, we are in a different place in the pandemic, and our policies and regulations will change to reflect the best information we have available today, as they have throughout the last three years,” Constantine said.

Washington state's vaccine requirement for employment remains in place. But with this latest move by Seattle and King County, perhaps another thing that will fade away is all the pestering you get from that one friend or family member who can't let their pandemic culture war go because you just have to know about this new "study" they learned about from a YouTube doctor. Fingers crossed.

Someone in Washington state has won the $747 million Powerball prize. It's unknown exactly who it is. All that we know is that the winning ticket was purchased in our state. Whoever it is, I'd like it to be known that I find them to be just awesome. So happy for you, pal. A person of such great character, who smells so lovely, deserves it. Call me. Let's hang out.

When such a large sum is won in the Powerball lottery, the full amount can be given in payments over 29 years. Or, a winner could choose to take a lesser, one-time payment and call it good. In this case, that one-time payment would be a measly $407.2 million. The Powerball has now been reset to a paltry $20 million.

AS SEEN ON KUOW

Brandi Carlile performs "Broken Horses" on stage at the 65th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023, in Los Angeles. Carlile took home three Grammys this year. In her acceptance speech she gave a shoutout to her roots in Seattle and thanked the city's fans for making the band "strive for this." (Associated Press)

DID YOU KNOW?

Benjamin F. McAdoo was the first Black architect registered in Washington state. After graduating from the University of Washington in 1946, McAdoo began his career designing and remodeling residences and churches in the area. He then went to work for the US Agency for International Development in the 1960s where he implemented a modular housing design in Jamaica. He eventually returned to the Seattle area to work for the city of Auburn, but kept working privately through an office in Seattle.

While McAdoo is known for his contributions to Northwest modernism, a style that was prominent leading up to the 1960s, he is equally known for how he applied his profession to social justice issues of his day. He helped Black families buy homes outside of Seattle's redlined neighborhoods. He served as president of the local NAACP, wrote columns for The Seattle Times, and hosted a radio show on KUOW. Overall, his approach to the profession was that housing should be accessible and affordable to everyone, even poor people. I know, I know, that may sound quite far out and downright odd in modern Seattle, but hey, it's what this very intelligent Seattle hero promoted.

Black architects and designers of the Northwest are currently being celebrated in a new MOHAI exhibit. The exhibit runs through April 30. Read all about that here.

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