WASHINGTON, D.C. - Attorney General Loretta Lynch today met with Deputy Chief Carmen Best and Mergitu Argo, chair of SPD's East African Advisory Council, as part of National Community Policing Week and the Obama Administration's commitment to building stronger relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve.
At a ceremony presenting the first-ever Attorney General's Awards for Distinguished Service in Community Policing, Seattle was recognized for hosting the Attorney General on her 12-city Community Policing Tour that highlighted collaborative programs and policing practices designed to advance public safety, strengthen police-community relations, and foster mutual trust and respect between law enforcement and the people they serve.
Annette L. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington, accompanied Best and Argo to Washington, D.C.
When in Seattle last fall, the Attorney General met with line officers and leadership at SPD's West Precinct; traveled to El Centro de la Raza to meet with the inaugural class of students from the Seattle Youth Employment Program SYEP, an internship program established by the Mayor's office for teenage students enrolled in Seattle public schools; and held a Community Policing Roundtable at the Northwest African American Museum where she solicited feedback from community members about their perception of and interactions with SPD, what they hoped to see as police reform continued, and the lessons they had learned from the consent decree process to date.
As the Attorney General stated when in Seattle: "Sweeping progress will not occur overnight. But as Seattle's recent experience can attest, real progress is possible-when we engage with one another, when we summon our goodwill and good faith, and when we work collaboratively as partners with a mutual and shared interest in ensuring the safety and security of the communities we call home."
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
