Community Concerns with Current King County Sheriff

Summary

Current King County Sheriff Mitzi Johanknecht has shown a consistent lack of commitment to accountability and to fighting racism within her department, causing many community organizations and some members of the King County Council and other elected officials to publicly request that she either step down from office or retire.

Importance

The King County County Sheriff’s office has made settlement payments in cases of police violence where officers killed unarmed civilians. Additionally, the department was recently ordered to pay a settlement for framing an innocent man of murder. Sheriff Johanknecht has failed to pursue disciplinary action for officers who have committed such egregious crimes and has defended, stayed silent, or failed to take measures to enact meaningful reform.


More Details

There are numerous incidents - in particular the Sheriff’s response to each of them - that have caused the community to lose faith in the leadership of King County Sheriff Mitzi Johanknecht. Specific examples:  

  1. In an internal email to King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) employees after the County settled with the family of Tommy Le, Sheriff Johanknecht stated that Deputy Molina’s decisions [including the decision to kill an unarmed man by shooting him in the back] were “tough decisions that sometimes must be made in our profession.” and that this was done to “protect the residents of that neighborhood.” It’s disingenuous to imply that Tommy Le was a threat to public safety, and these statements serve as a rationalization for his murder. 

  2. In April 2020 Captain Miller made a social media post that expressed perceptions that contribute to the dehumanization and death of Black men. He is also an officer who was involved in the sting operation that led to Mi'Chance Dunlap-Gittens’ death. Sheriff Johanknecht’s disciplinary action for this behavior amounted to barely a slap on the wrist and shows a lack of commitment to addressing racism in her department. 

  3. Sheriff Johanknecht’s efforts to fulfill her promise to the grieving parents of Mi’Chance Dunlap-Gittens to implement body and dash cameras have been ineffective. Giving lip service to policy changes that are not followed through on continues to erode public trust.

  4. The recent settlement with Rodney Wheeler adds to concerns over the lack of accountability in Johanknecht’s department. Wheeler spent two years in jail awaiting trial on homicide charges and was then acquitted because KCSO detectives cherry-picked evidence and included “false and misleading” statements in court documents. As the head of KCSO, Sheriff Johanknecht is responsible for the integrity of her officers. The public cannot have faith in the Sheriff’s Office when officers frame innocent people for crimes they did not commit yet suffer no consequences.

 

Acronyms

KCSO - King County Sheriff’s Office