Leo Poort
In his 32 year career
in law enforcement as the principal Police Legal Advisor for the City of
Seattle, Leo Poort gave day to day advice to the Seattle Police
Department. He counseled, instructed and advised seven (7) different
chiefs and hundreds of senior staff members, thousands of sworn and
civilian managers and countless officer regarding criminal laws and
constitutional procedures, first amendment protections, personnel laws,
municipal ordinances, traffic laws, state and federal laws affecting
property and personal injury (tort) liability, and personnel law, all
laws that affect the operation of a major law enforcement agency.
With Mr. Poort’s long
history and experience with SPD as their Police Legal Advisor, he
drafted laws, testified, and worked with the legislature to develop many
public safety laws for the State of Washington regarding the reporting
and enforcement of domestic violence, missing persons, child abuse and
neglect. He also worked to refine laws related to narcotics,
police-information sharing, criminal history records, obtaining
information regulated by state law under HIPAA standards, state firearm
restrictions and penalties, use of force by police officers, police
pursuits, seizure and forfeiture laws, classification/registration of
sex offenders and violent offenders, anti-harassment laws, prostitution
abatement, drug abatement, alcohol abuse, civility and trespass,
landlord/tenant laws, private security, emergency preparedness, police
discipline, police intelligence laws and records laws that allow victims
access to police information. Mr. Poort also worked to develop criminal
procedural rules relating to search warrants, obtaining sensitive
information by subpoena, and inquest rules (coroner procedures) that
apply when a person dies either in police custody or by lethal force
employed by an officer.
Mr. Poort’s long term employer, the Seattle
Police Department, is one of 50 major police departments of the United
States. It has an annual budget of over 213 million dollars. SPD has a
sworn staff of 1277 officers and 530 civilian staff. SPD handles over
806,000 calls for police service and dispatches almost 234,000 calls
with a total response by officers (including traffic stops, on-view,
precinct contacts) of at least 521,000 officer contacts per year.
Mr. Poort enjoyed a “direct report” to the
Chief for all of his 32 years of service. Because of his unique
relationship to the Chief, he was able to give consistent legal counsel
across many traditional lines of command in support of SPD’s mission and
to fill the needs of SPD employees for immediate legal advice. His role
was to draft or review all formal policies, and approve legally
sensitive policies for the Chief.
He provided input and updated Department
staff on new laws affecting law enforcement and reviewed all contracts
with outside agencies. He also coordinated requests for legal opinions,
the drafting of new ordinances, risk management issues, as well as
discovery and defense of lawsuits against officers with the City
Attorney’s Office. On behalf of the Chief, he represented the Department
in mediations and court proceedings (local, state and federal). He
produced affidavits, documents and answers to interrogatories to defend
SPD’s policies and its personnel in litigation. At times he arranged
for outside attorneys for officers as needed to avoid conflicts of
interest. Leo Poort retired from the Seattle Police Department in
February, 2009.
Mr. Poort holds a B.A.
degree from Michigan State University in English and taught high school
for 3 ½ years. Leo is a 1973 graduate of Tulane University with a Juris
Doctorate in Law. He was admitted to the Washington State Bar in 1973
and has been a member of the Bar for 36 years.
Over the last 35 years
Mr. Poort has received extensive, specialized professional training in
nearly all areas of law enforcement. He has substantial experience in
the areas of the use of force, less than lethal force, officer and
supervisor training, internal investigations, personnel law and police
liability.
He served for 3 years
as Assistant City Attorney with the City of Bellevue, WA and served as
Bellevue’s first Police Legal Advisor. He prosecuted cases for the City
of Bellevue worked on criminal appeals. He coordinated case
investigation advice and search warrant advice on felonies with the King
County Prosecutor, prosecuted land use violations and represented the
Chief and City in disciplinary cases.
For nine months in 2008
and 2009, Mr. Poort served as the Certification Manager for the
Washington Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) with the
responsibility of reviewing police officer and sheriff deputy
termination cases (statewide) to determine whether any fired officer
should have his or her Washington State certification revoked for
“disqualifying misconduct” under Washington State law. If decertified by
the CJTC, an officer has a right to an appeal and hearing with the
State. The reviews by Mr. Poort included a confidential review of all
documents leading to discharge by the local law enforcement agency.
Hearings, if requested by an officer, were open to the public.
For over 25 years Mr.
Poort has been the chair of the Legal Advisors Section of the Washington
State Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC). He has
instructed twice each year at the WAPSC fall and spring conferences
throughout Washington State and has served for at least 30 years on the
WASPC legislative committee and testified frequently before the
Washington State Legislature, frequently working directly with members
and the staff of the legislature on bills important to Seattle, the
police community and victims.
Past memberships
include the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), he is
a Life Member. As a member of IACP he attended over 25 conferences and
was a member of the Legal Officers Section and the Legislative
Committee. He taught at conferences and seminars sponsored by the IACP.
He was also a member of the Legal Advisors section of the Major Cities
Chiefs Association while working for Seattle, and a member of the
Washington State Municipal Attorneys Association.
Mr. Poort is a member
in good standing of the Washington State Bar Association: (1973 to
present).
Leo's Curriculum Vitae Page
References
Task and project specific references
available upon request. I have numerous professional references within
the governmental, legal, and police professional arenas. References
will be tailored to your areas of interest. Please contact me with your
specific requests.
My professional career is well
documented and you may make independent inquiries of elected officials,
civil and criminal defense attorneys and prosecutors, professional
organizations, local news outlets.
Rates
Rates are based on
individual circumstances and needs of the client. Contact me for an
initial discussion of your particular project. I will discuss the
general circumstances of the case or project in the strictest
confidence, and/or my experience and qualifications at no charge. If I
am unable to be of assistance, or if I should decline the case, I will
be happy to refer you to another appropriate resource. I limit the
number of projects I work on to better devote the required time and
attention to each one.
Police Procedures Review
·
Police Practices
·
Arrest, Search and
Seizure
·
Negligent
Selection and Hiring
·
Police Discipline
and Ethics
·
Discovery of Brady
materials
·
Internal Affairs
Investigations
·
Special Units…K-9,
Harbor and Horses
|
·
Narcotics
Enforcement
·
Seizure and
Forfeiture
·
Use of Force
·
Less-than-lethal
Force
·
Negligent
Discipline and Retention
·
Police Pursuits
·
Domestic Violence
and Sex Offenders |
Court
Preparation, Review, and Testimony
Leo Poort has
testified and appeared on behalf of the Seattle Police
Department at trial or deposition or discovery hearings as a
witness in Federal, State, and Local Courts throughout his law
enforcement career. These appearances have been in both civil
and criminal matters, as well as legislative hearings and
personnel hearings. In almost all cases he was representing the
Seattle Police Department. He appeared amicus curiae in some
cases on behalf of the Washington State Association of Sheriffs
and Police Chiefs.
As an
instructor and mediation consultant to the City of Seattle, Mr.
Poort has assisted in numerous matters regarding police
liability, use of force, police pursuit, lethal force reviews
and inquests, police officer domestic violence, sex offender
reviews, abuse of children and dependant adults, and workplace
standards and policies. His case consultation and review have
involved the Seattle Police Department and other some other
Washington State Agencies to date. Because of his recent
retirement, successful career with SPD and recognized
experience in Washington State, the field of cases open to his
consulting have now opened up to agencies and individuals in
other states and jurisdictions as well. Practical considerations
and limits in the course of his employment with SPD have, until
now, limited Mr. Poort to cases where the permission of SPD was
required and the interest of his own agency considered in
working with outside agencies.
-
Litigation Support, Discovery, Statements and
Interviews
-
Criminal Case Review
-
Expert Witness
-
Pre-Trial Case Review
-
Preparation of Opinion Reports
-
Affidavits and Depositions
-
Rebuttal Declarations
-
Court Testimony
He conducted
hundreds of due process hearings for SPD and the City of Seattle
relating to the release of vehicles impounded when a driver was
arrested for the crime of Driving While License Suspended.
·
Pre-Trial
Case Review
·
Preparation of Opinion Reports
·
Affidavits and Depositions
·
Rebuttal
Reports
·
Court
Testimony
|
·
Expert
Witness
·
Policy
Development
·
Internal
Investigation Reviews
·
Police
Best Practices
·
Training |