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Rantz: Police guild demands director be fired for ‘his support of
terrorists’
Oct 11, 2023, 7:08 PM

Image: Tamer Abouzeid, director at King County's Office of Law
Enforcement Oversight...
Tamer Abouzeid, director at King County's Office of Law Enforcement
Oversight (Image courtesy of a 2023 King County Council meeting)

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BY JASON RANTZ
The Jason Rantz Show, 3pm-7pm on KTTH
The King County Police Officers Guild is demanding controversial
director Tamer Abouzeid be removed from his role at the Office of Law
Enforcement Oversight (OLEO) for “his support of terrorists.”

“Tamer Abouzeid, the King County Director for the Office of Law
Enforcement Oversight is unfit for his position and should immediately
be removed from office. His continued employment jeopardizes public
trust in government,” the KCPSOG executive board wrote to the King
County Council, with all nine board members approving the letter. They
informed membership and delivered the letter on Wednesday evening.

The guild said it “stand(s) with our Jewish brothers and sisters inside
and outside of law enforcement and demand the King County Council
immediately terminate Director Abouzeid before he causes more harm to
government-public trust.”

Abouzeid, who provides civilian investigations into deputies accused of
misconduct, faces intense criticism for a series of anti-Semitic posts
on X, formerly known as Twitter, justifying Hamas’ terrorist attacks
against Israel. Two King County Council members previously demanded
Abouzeid resign and the American Jewish Committee of Seattle demanded
the council remove Abouzeid as well.

Key quotes from the guild’s statement
The guild highlighted a particularly egregious post by Abouzeid in their
letter to the council: “Israelis don’t want to know they can be avenged
after the fact, but that they can be safe. So, ironically, this may be
the closest we have gotten to peace in a while, because Israel only
entertains peace if it must, just like 50 years ago.”

The guild argued the “inflammatory and callous comments erode our trust
in his agility to remain impartial and make sound decisions rooted in
focus.” They added, “His support of terrorists undermines his
effectiveness as a department director and undermines public trust.”

Abouzeid also argued that “Resistance to invasion and occupation is an
inalienable right whether you’re Ukrainian, Palestinian, or any
nationality. I am praying for the liberation of Palestine and end to
apartheid.”

The letter notes this is not the first time Abouzeid has come under fire
for unprofessional social media posts, including one from the official
OLEO account. In a series of posts, he lashed out at police, claiming
“the entire legal system is rotten” and “it is not about individuals or
bad apples, but a racist system with convoluted priorities and arrogant
situations.” He explained that “we work within a system that many of
us–myself included–believe should be dismantled.” He said the system
“cannot be reformed” and they “must be brought down by the power of the
people.”

At the time, Abouzeid was admonished by the council verbally and in writing.

Posts go too far
The police guild membership includes Jewish members who board members
believe cannot be given fair treatment under Abouzeid.

“At King County we are guided by True North and values. These include
that we are racially just and that we respect ALL people. Director
Abouzeid’s comments clearly do not reflect those values,” they wrote.

King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn, who was first to call for
Abouzeid’s resignation, told the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH the OLEO
director would open the county up to a lawsuit for finding a Jewish
deputy to be in violation of a county policy. Dunn said he doesn’t think
Abouzeid could fairly treat a Jewish employee. Because of his “fringe”
views and unprofessional conduct, Dunn believes Abouzeid should resign.

“I am deeply disappointed that after repeated warnings, Mr. Abouzeid
continues to engage in highly inflammatory rhetoric that undercuts his
ability to be seen as an impartial administrator in his role of Director
of Law Enforcement Oversight in King County,” Dunn said in a statement
to the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH. “The director of law enforcement
oversight is one of the most sensitive and important roles in county
government. The role requires discretion, sound judgment and the
appearance of fairness. I have lost confidence in Mr. Abouzeid’s ability
to do his job and I am calling for his immediate resignation.”

Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer also has said Abouzeid should not hold
this position.

“I was the SOLE vote against his confirmation and his actions to date
have validated why I voted against his appointment. As the one
councilmember who voted against his hiring I, of course, want him out,”
he told the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH.

Abouzeid has his defenders
King County Council Chair Dave Upthegrove ignored multiple requests from
the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH to weigh in on the issue. But when KIRO
Newsradio asked, Upthegrove said that not everyone on the council
disagrees with Abouzeid and that he didn’t say anything that would lead
to punishment.

“We reviewed the posts on his personal social media account, and while I
believe many of us would disagree with some of his posts, there were no
grounds for disciplinary action,” Upthegrove said in an emailed statement.

Councilmember Sarah Perry tells the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH she is
working on legislation that would set standards for social media use.
But she did not back Abouzeid’s termination or join calls for his
resignation. Councilmembers Girmay Zahilay, an Abouzeid supporter most
responsible for the appointment, Claudia Balducci and Joe McDermott
ignored multiple requests for comment.

Abouzeid won’t back down
Even after learning of the brutal and barbaric treatment of Jews, which
includes decapitating babies, raping women, and setting the elderly on
fire, Abouzeid has maintained a position that Israel brought this on
itself, accusing the country of ethnic cleansing. He even implied Jews
and Israel’s allies are faking anger over Hamas’ brutal violence and it
wasn’t really Israeli civilians being killed because they’re “gun-toting
settlers.”

This conduct shocked the regional director for the American Jewish
Committee of Seattle.

“Trafficking in tropes that demonize the State of Israel, calling into
question its existence as a homeland for Jewish people, and sharing
misinformation about Zionism, which is the national liberation movement
of the Jewish people, compromises his ability to serve as director of
the Office of Law Enforcement Oversight,” Regina Friedland said to the
Jason Rantz Show on KTTH. “Considering his anti-Zionist animus, would
Jewish residents of King County receive the same treatment as others who
file complaints? At a time when antisemitic acts and rhetoric are
surging across the country, his comments are deeply problematic. I urge
the Metropolitan King County Council to reconsider Abouzeid’s
appointment as director of OLEO.”

Dunn is set to make his own announcement this week about further actions
he hopes the council will take to address Abouzeid’s open support of Hamas.

Abouzeid has accused me of being racist and an Islamaphobe. He’s now
also claiming to be the victim of a smear campaign.

“I’m facing a campaign of hatred & smears trying to paint me as
antisemitic & to literally try and get me fired from my job,” he posted
on X.

Listen to the Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3-6 p.m. on
KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast
here. Follow Jason on X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.