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Seattle Times sues city of Seattle over Mayor Jenny Durkan's missing text messages during protests
[SEATTLETIMES] The Seattle Times filed a lawsuit Thursday alleging that the city of Seattle mishandled requests from news hounds for officials’ text messages during a tumultuous period last summer when police abandoned the East Precinct and used tear gas on protesters.The complaint, filed in King County Superior Court, follows a whistleblower investigation that found Seattle Mayor Jenny Summer of LoveDurkan  ...Democrat Maress of Seattle, who allowed a chunk of the downtown of her city to be turned into an autonomous combat zone. She just can't figure what went wrong, if anything...’s office violated state public records laws in its handling of requests after discovering the mayor’s texts were missing for a 10-month period. Four Seattle Times news hounds were among the requesters affected. Their requests were largely focused on officials’ communications surrounding a series of events last summer, including fatal shootings in the Capitol Hill Organized Protest area that formed following the precinct’s abandonment and the resignation of former Police Chief Carmen Best. None of the news hounds were informed that the mayor’s texts had not been retained. The Seattle Times, represented by attorney Kathy George, claims the city violated the Public Records Act by withholding or destroying the mayor’s records after they were requested. The Times also argues the city did not respond to requests in a timely fashion and with the fullest assistance, as required by state law. The city has said that one of Durkan’s city-issued cellphones was set to delete texts after 30 days, which goes against state law and the city’s retention policies. It is still not clear who is responsible for changing the retention setting to 30 days, the shortest standard option on an iPhone. Texts from seven police department officials, including the former chief, and the fire chief are also missing. Related: Seattle Times: 2021-05-28 Three Tacoma cops are charged in murder Manuel Ellis who was handcuffed and yelled 'I can't breathe' after being restrained for harassing drivers in their cars last year Seattle Times: 2021-05-13 Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant to pay for violating law Seattle Times: 2021-05-05 The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World's Most Precious Manuscripts Related: East Precinct: 2021-02-16 Furious Seattle cops confront Antifa for barricading a police precinct with SNOW to stop patrol cars responding to emergency calls during storm East Precinct: 2020-10-24 'It's an absolute joke:' Seattle officers leave scathing responses in exit interviews East Precinct: 2020-10-18 Ex-lawmaker’s Antifa son charged in planning sophisticated attacks against Seattle police Related: King County: 2021-05-06 Seattle paramedics left teen to die in CHOP zone: lawsuit King County: 2021-04-30 Auburn man arrested for alleged threats to kill Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan King County: 2020-12-02 Seattle To Send First-Time Non-Violent Criminals To ‘Community Panel' and Have Taxpayers Pay Their Restitution Related: Carmen Best: 2020-12-02 Seattle homicides highest in over a decade as council cuts police budget Carmen Best: 2020-08-23 Mayor Durkan vetoes council's 2020 budget revision that would have cut up to 100 Seattle police officers Carmen Best: 2020-08-13 Black community blaming 'racism' for police chief's departure Posted by: Fred 2021-06-08 |
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