Policing police: King County has its own problems

After being hired in 2011, King County’s first ever director of the Office of Law and Enforcement Oversight, Charles Gaither, resigned last week. And it wasn’t just any ol’ resignation. His parting statement? According to King 5: “Support for effective oversight of the Sheriff’s Office waned and the spirit of collaboration was replaced with conflict and political maneuvering. As the environment grew more hostile, I recognized that effective civilian oversight of law enforcement could not be achieved.” … Ouch.There have been a variety of responses to his mic drop. According to the same King 5 article, King County Council Chair Larry Phillips, for example, blamed Gaither for any lack of progress. (Gaither told King 5 he can’t address these allegations at this time.) According to KUOW, past audits and documents show Gaither has had mixed reviews since he joined the office – some good, some bad, but nothing terribly extreme either way. As little as one month ago, King County Sheriff John Urquhart told the Seattle Times that he’s had no problems working with Gaither. In sum: Drama drama drama.The most important takeaway: Gaither is gone and the position needs to be filled. (The process to appoint an interim director is underway.) As for whether or not King County has been resisting oversight, Brian Buchner, president of the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement, said: “I think opening the position and moving quickly to fill it will be one of the biggest demonstrations of [City Council’s] support for oversight.”  — K.H.