UPDATED: $7,500,000 Homicide Settlement Raises City Liability Insurance Premiums 112%

Police on duty to keep the Community Court safe / credit B. Yoder

UPDATED:  Police and Fire Safety Levy

In a September Council Study session the topic of escalating liability insurance came up. And boy is it up.  The premium escalated by112%, attributed to a $7,500,000 settlement to the Churna family for a police homicide. And, the deductible increased from $15,000 to $250,000. According to Finance Director Chip Corder, the City had to switch carriers (CIAA) after 12 years with Travelers.  Director Corder may need to dip into the  General Fund for a solution.  The City is fortunate to have surplus funding from construction taxes. Chip thinks it could take 2-3 years, maybe longer to get in good standing with insurance carriers.  In the meantime, Police Chief Lowe is walking on eggshells.

The Back Story:  On 11/20/20 Ms. Churna was shot and killed by a Redmond policeman.  Ms. Churna did not have a weapon in her hand.  The last time I heard, the officer is still on duty with Redmond. Yes, it's hard to believe. If officers were wearing body-worn cameras would it have lessened the Department's insurance liability?  Probably.  

Body Worn/ In-car Camera Program:  The levy only includes the ongoing expenses related to the Body Worn program, including staffing, training, technology services, records management, public disclosure, and court case preparation. The city already owns the cameras and has not included that expense in the levy. 

The Explanatory statement in the Voters' Pamphlet doesn't clearly describe the ongoing expenses; The price is $9.3 million over ten years. That's a lot of tax dollars.  I would rather see the expense come out of the General Fund.  The Police Information Officer has confirmed "one-time funds" are allocated to temporarily support the expenses related to the body-worn camera program through 2025, in the event that the levy does not pass.  One-time funds are collected from construction sales taxes.

I think body-worn and in-car cameras are an invasion of my privacy but I'll probably vote "Yes" on the measure.  I'm ecstatic about the six mental health specialists/case managers working the beat with the police.  And, we need the emergency preparedness that Fire provides.

Factoids:  Police Chief Lowe instituted a catalytic converter ID program for several weeks. He also started ticketing noisy vehicles. "smash and dash" is still one of major crimes in Redmond.  Life Is Good.

-- Bob Yoder, 10/27/2022  opinion