County Council identifies two finalists for law enforcement oversight job

The King County Council has narrowed its search for a new director of the Office of Law Enforcement Oversight to two finalists.

The finalists are Tamer Abouzeid, an attorney, mediator, community organizer and policy professional, and Eddie Aubrey, a civilian police oversight manager and a former police auditor, judge, and prosecutor.

Abouzeid is an attorney at the Chicago office of a large civil rights organization, focusing on issues of discrimination and policing, and is legal counsel to the Chicago Alliance against Racist and Political Repression. He previously worked at Chicago’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability investigating allegations of misconduct against Chicago police officers.

Aubrey is the civilian manager of the Office of Professional Accountability for the Richmond Police Department in California and previously launched a civilian police auditor office for the Fresno Police Department. Before that, he was a prosecuting attorney and judge for King County, a chief prosecuting attorney for Renton, director at Tacoma Community College and a police officer in Los Angeles.

The two candidates will participate in two virtual community meetings in July: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on July 13; and noon to 2 p.m. on July 14. The candidates will speak to prepared questions and then take questions from community members until time runs out.

Once those meetings are complete, community members will provide input via online surveys and the candidates will be interviewed by the OLEO Director Recruitment Advisory Committee and then by the Council’s Employment Administration Committee. The committee will then send one finalist to full council for approval.