Adrian Diaz has moved from interim to permanent Seattle Police Chief, after the final step in his confirmation today – City Council approval (8-1, with Councilmember Kshama Sawant the lone “no”). His confirmation as chief comes almost two and a half years after he took on the interim role following the resignation of Chief Carmen Best, and three and a half months after Mayor Bruce Harrell announced Diaz was his choice to become permanent chief. He spoke today after the council’s vote (advance the video to 1 hour, 15 minutes in):
He said the department and city had “experienced many difficult challenges … but people step up.” He also noted that violent crime has been on a “downward trend” in recent months. The new chief has an often-mentioned West Seattle tie, having served as a high-school wrestling coach at Chief Sealth, as noted in our 2008 mention of an award he received as an officer.
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