Poll of Seattle residents finds fewer disapprove of police

SEATTLE — A new survey of Seattle residents finds fewer people saying they disapprove of the city’s police department since it began making reforms under a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice.

The survey was filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle Thursday. It found that compared to a similar poll conducted in 2013, the percentage of people who said they disapprove of Seattle police fell sharply, from 34 percent to 25 percent.

Similarly, the percentage who said they approve of the department rose from 60 percent to 64 percent, just outside the poll’s 3.7 percent expected margin of error.

The polling firm said it was encouraging that 65 percent of Latinos said they approve, compared to 54 percent two years ago. But black residents remain skeptical, with just under half saying they approve and 40 percent saying they disapprove.