SEATTLE — On Wednesday, students and parents spoke out about a proposal to bring back police officers, or school engagement officers, to Garfield High School.
During the Seattle Public Schools (SPS) meeting, district officials said they want to tackle four big concerns about officers: proper training, role clarity, accountability, and the overall impact on students.
“Garfield needs to prepare for the upcoming school year. We need individuals on campus to assist students in cases of emergency,” said former Garfield student Athena McDermott.
McDermott and Rilan Springer are recent Garfield graduates who say more should have been done to keep students safe after the shooting death Amarr Murphy Paine in June 2024.
“We need someone we can run and get and know that we’re gonna be safe,” said Springer said.
SPS is considering a one-year pilot program with Seattle police to get School Engagement Officers (SEO) on Garfield’s campus instead of School Resource Officers (SRO), which were removed district-wide in 2020.
“They’re not wearing the full body armor,” parent Alicia Spanswick explained. “They’re there to have conversations, to engage, to build trust and relationships.”
Spanswick is a mother of two Garfield High students who says SEO’s should be focused on preventing violence before it happens.
“The idea is that the first interaction a person has with a police officer shouldn’t be when they’re in trouble or getting arrested. It should be when, you know, just a friendly conversation,” she said.
People who spoke against the idea of SEO’s say it would negatively impact BIPOC students.
“We need to direct our efforts towards programs and staff that help students. Not toward armed police in and around students,” said Jonathan Toledo.
If officers were to return, Spanswick says there should be distinct guidelines.
“If somebody needs to get disciplined, that needs to be referred to the admin. Ideally, if the district or the school is to determine that an arrest needs to happen, then they need to call in a separate unit, and really putting a really solid barrier,” she added.
Before SPS decides, there will be another meeting with the Garfield community on Sept. 9.
There will be a possible school board vote on Sept. 17.
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