Lawsuit aims to force disclosure of Seattle PD records related to 2020 protest informant and Federal Monitor’s text messages

Lawsuit aims to force disclosure of Seattle PD records related to 2020 protest informant and Federal Monitor’s text messages
Text message sent from Seattle PD's Federal Monitor Antonio Oftelie to other Seattle PD executives. Source: Seattle PD Public Records Request

I am suing the Seattle Police Department (SPD), again, alleging that the department illegally withheld records requested under the Washington State Public Records Act (PRA).

The lawsuit has been filed today in King County Superior Court.

Last year, I sued the SPD as well, alleging the department failed to turn over text messages as required under the PRA. To resolve that case, the City of Seattle and I agreed to a $51,250 settlement.

This time around, I am alleging that the SPD violated the PRA again by withholding records related to two requests I made in July 2023.

Request 1 - FBI Emails

Within this public records request, I asked for emails between a key SPD officer and two specific agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) sent during Seattle’s 2020 protests.

After I made the request, the SPD claimed that no records existed at all. The department then closed my request without providing any records. 

I appealed their determination and after my appeal, the SPD gave me 66 pages of emails highlighting the fact that records did actually exist. However, I am alleging that the SPD is still withholding further emails that specifically discuss the operation and deployment of a confidential human source, or informant, during Seattle’s 2020 protests.

The identity of the informant is unknown. No news outlet has ever reported on the operation of a confidential informant within Seattle's 2020 protests.

More information about this will be published in a follow up report. 

Request 2 - Monitor Antonio Oftelie Texts

The second public records request included within this lawsuit concerns a string of text messages sent between SPD’s top lawyer Rebecca Boatright, former director of Strategic Initiatives Chris Fisher, SPD’s Chief Operating Officer Brian Maxey and the SPD’s Federal Court Monitor Antonio Oftelie.

The Stranger previously reported on some of these text messages. 

The SPD initially closed my request for these texts without providing a single record. After I appealed, Seattle’s Office of Police Accountability found that the SPD’s records officer waited six months to even start looking for records, and that they were “not truthful” in their communications about how they were processing the request. 

After I appealed the request closure, the department provided 30 pages of text messages. 

Within these texts, there are still clear gaps, highlighting messages that still have not been disclosed. I am alleging the SPD continues to withhold these missing texts in violation of the PRA. 

If you want to get a hint of what new text messages were uncovered, take a look at SPD's Federal Monitor Antonio Oftelie’s text in the header image above. 

I’ll have a follow up report on these texts coming soon as well.

My ask of you

You can support this litigation, which aims to liberate critical information to the public, by subscribing to HardPressed. Share HardPressed with a friend and tell them to subscribe too. I promise it will be worthwhile. And, it’s free! 

More to come.