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OLEO Director applauds critical improvements in new collective bargaining agreement paving the way for independent investigations
Summary
King County’s Office of Law Enforcement Oversight (OLEO) is pleased to announce that the new collective bargaining agreement with the King County Police Officers Guild (KCPOG), the bargaining agent for King County Sheriff’s Office deputies and sergeants, contains critical changes that will improve accountability and transparency. The agreement has been transmitted to the King County Council, which must ratify it before it goes into effect.
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King County’s Office of Law Enforcement Oversight (OLEO) is pleased to announce that the new collective bargaining agreement with the King County Police Officers Guild (KCPOG), the bargaining agent for King County Sheriff’s Office deputies and sergeants, contains critical changes that will improve accountability and transparency. The agreement has been transmitted to the King County Council, which must ratify it before it goes into effect. OLEO Director Tamer Abouzeid issued the following statement:
"From the beginning, we worked with the Office of Labor Relations to ensure that OLEO’s duties under the County Charter and Code are not limited by the collective bargaining agreement. While there is still work to be done at the state level to strengthen independent oversight over law enforcement agencies, the new agreement reflects important improvements.
“For us, the biggest change is that OLEO is now able to independently investigate complaints and other matters pursuant to the King County Charter and Code. This has been a long-held demand of the community and was our main priority in negotiations.
“The next step in ensuring that OLEO can carry out its duties is including multiple additional personnel in the OLEO budget for 2022-2023. We have asked the King County Council to add staff for OLEO and we are confident that law enforcement oversight will be prioritized in this budget.”