‘Unacceptable’ Seattle police sex assault unit low staffing

SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell says the police department’s low staffing of its sexual assault unit that has led to a backlog of dozens of stalled cases is unacceptable. Harrell made his comments Thursday following a report by The Seattle Times and KUOW-FM of an internal memo showing the unit stopped investigating most new sexual assault cases involving adults this year. Harrell acknowledged that the current state of the unit and its backlog of 48 stalled cases was not good. Harrell suggested recruiting retired detectives to investigate sex offenses, but says he labor agreement limit that. He also says he will meet within weeks with concerned victim advocates.