Seattle Police Get the Shaft on Federal Stimulus Cash

Word came from the Obama administration this week that many police officers will keep their jobs across the U.S. as part of $1 billion in grants dedicated to keep police officers "on the beat."

Even with ties to people in high places, the Seattle Police Department was deee-nied, while 30 other Washington agencies were awarded a combined total of $18,543,197 to cover the cost of hiring/rehiring 71 officers over the next three years--benefits included.

In order to receive federal support, agencies had to be facing serious budget problems and high crime rates. That left Seattle out of a payday, due to the city's low(er) crime rate. However, some of our neighbors did fit the bill and were able to squeeze sizable funds to hire/re-hire more officers: City of Tacoma ($1,595,375.00 - 5 officers), City of Auburn ($1,290,880 - 5 officers), City of Bremerton ($831,339 - 3 officers), and City of Everett ($608,322 - 2 officers).