Monitor: Seattle police contract may jeopardize compliance

SEATTLE — The monitor overseeing Seattle police reforms has suggested that a federal judge might rule the city's new contract with the rank-and-file police union is in violation of a court agreement.

The Seattle Times reports court-appointed monitor Merrick Bobb's Thursday suggestion stands in contrast with views of city and federal attorneys who haven't raised the contract as a potential impediment to the agreement.

In a report submitted to U.S. District Judge James Robart, Bobb said "crucial issues" including officer discipline and accountability are now pending before the judge.

Robart has raised questions about the city's contract with the Seattle Police Officers Guild, signed in November, in the wake of an arbitrator's decision ordering the reinstatement of an officer who appealed his firing for punching a handcuffed woman.

Robart is awaiting a final brief on the matter from the city next week.