SAAS Message from Head of School, June 9
Dear SAAS Community,
We have heard the many voices of concern from our community and from social media about our relationship with the Seattle Police Department and the impression that SAAS is operating as “the new East Precinct.” We want to dispel those rumors and provide context to you about this situation.
Seattle Academy has not, is not, and will not operate in an official or unofficial capacity as the East Precinct or any arm of the Seattle Police Department.
We did not authorize the use of our SAAS garage for the large number of police vehicles shown in the video on social media. After becoming aware of this use, we communicated to officers that Seattle Academy should not be used to house police department vehicles.
When the East Precinct was being “evacuated” yesterday, we received an urgent request from our off-duty officers, to park their personal vehicles in our garage as they gathered personal belongings and vacated the precinct building. We made the decision to allow that personal request based on the urgency of the situation, under the conditions that police department vehicles were not authorized last night or in the future, and that it was a temporary and personal accommodation only for officers with whom we’ve had a long-standing off-duty working relationship.
We are dismayed that these conditions were not met and that multiple uniformed officers entered our building last night. The Seattle Police Department officers have been informed that they are not authorized to use the garage or our premises. Our goal in agreeing to this temporary request was to help expedite the evacuation of the East Precinct. In hindsight, it was a mistake.
It’s also come to our attention that the 16th Avenue parking lot, which is owned by Temple de Hirsh Sinai, has been used by the Seattle Police Department. Seattle Academy has not and would not authorize the use of this lot for these purposes.
In the past several weeks, Seattle Academy has been reconsidering the use of off-duty officers. We contract with off-duty individuals who primarily provide traffic control around our school.
The activities on our campus, in our neighborhood, our city, and in our nation make this a more urgent consideration. We’ve heard your concerns and frustrations. We share them, we’re listening, and we will take action.
We stand against racism and systems of oppression that abuse privilege and power.
Rob
