Thousands of faculty and students have signed a petition that calls on the University of Washington to sever ties with the Seattle Police Department, saying the university has a duty to protect people on campus from police violence. But the university says it does not have a formal relationship with city police.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the two-page petition circulated on a Google document was accompanied by 223 pages of signatures, and organizers say more than 9,000 people have signed the petition. It’s also been endorsed by UAW 4121, a union that represents 6,000 workers at the UW, and the Graduate and Professional Student Senate, which represents 15,000 graduate students, organizers say.