SEATTLE POLICE: Adrian Diaz out as chief, former King County Sheriff Sue Rahr taking over temporarily

1:36 PM: After four years, and amid multiple lawsuits, Adrian Diaz is out as Seattle Police Chief, as citywide outlets had reported earlier. In making the official announcement a short time ago, Mayor Bruce Harrell said that Diaz will stay with SPD and work on “special projects,” but that he and Diaz had agreed that “with the amount of litigation” in progress, “the kind of culture change we want would be best served with him stepping aside.” Taking over the department as Interim Chief is Sue Rahr, who served as King County Sheriff from 2005 to 2012. “She is the right person at the right moment to lead SPD into the future,” Harrell said, adding that she’s “not a candidate for the permanent appointment” so they’re launching a “nationwide search” and he is “looking outside the department,” while also keeping the door open for internal candidates. The search also will include help from former SPD Chief Kathleen O’Toole, he said. Rahr said she wants the SPD ranks to know “we’re going to get through this” and asked them to be “brutally honest and open with me” regarding the challenges they’re facing. Harrell said some progress is being made against crime – the homicide rate is down 44 percent over last year, for example – and said that applications for police positions are up, “17 to 19 applications a day since (the contract approval), compared to 5 to 6 a day a year ago.” (Just yesterday, a City Council committee got a dismal report on hiring and staffing.) Any other command-staff changes? Harrell was asked. That’s “under discussion,” he replied.

Checking archives, we note that Rahr was a co-chair of the advisory group that recommended a slate of candidates for the chief position in 2018 that drew fire for not including then-acting chief Carmen Best (who eventually was reconsidered and then promoted). She resigned as sheriff in 2012 to lead the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission, from which she retired in 2021.

2:34 PM: Here’s Seattle Channel video of the hourlong announcement and Q&A:

(added) And here’s the official news release.

4:58 PM: Here’s what District 1 Councilmember Rob Saka of West Seattle, vice-chair of the Public Safety Committee, said via email:

I want to join Mayor Bruce Harrell in thanking Chief Diaz for his 27 years of faithful service to the SPD and four years as Chief. I fully support Mayor Bruce Harrell’s decision. As I have said before, I am deeply troubled by reports of sexual harassment, discrimination and a toxic culture within SPD. That type of behavior has no place in our police department. I am ready to do everything I can to help support Interim Chief Rahr address those issues and ensure SPD is able to attract and retain the best officers in the country. I look forward to opportunities to partner and to continue our legislative oversight role in ensuring the city has the best police department to serve all our residents.

wetone May 29, 2024 (2:07 pm)

Band-aid fix for much deeper issues with-in Seattle government along with terrible timing in doing so. Starting with ex mayor Murray and his graceful exit from city, aloud by city and council… (should of went to jail) then ex mayor Durkin and city council leading city to where we our today and now current mayor Harrell which actually was one of the original “defund the police” when he was on city council and today has largest staff of all past mayors, keeps hiring more as no one can make decision’s, then add spending issues….. there’s so much dirt being covered up, it will take years to recover if that’s even possible…..

Brandon May 29, 2024 (2:18 pm)

“She is the right person at the right moment to lead SPD into the future,” Harrell said, adding that she’s “not a candidate for the permanent appointment”.

Holy contradictions batman! Rahr is funny to ask the officers to be brutally honest with her, as if the issues arent common knowledge. I just wish she’d keep a tally on how many officers ask for a new constituency and share the result so we can all have a laugh at how nothing will get better.

Tired of Vitriol May 29, 2024 (3:01 pm)

She’s not a candidate for the permanent position because she’s coming out of retirement to fill the position temporarily and will go back to retirement once she helps fill it. I realize there are problems, but I also don’t suppose that I can thoroughly know what they are based on the loudest voices who garner media attention, on political spin, and/or on angry comment board contributors. This and so many other problems would more likely get solved if we were all willing to accept that we probably don’t know as much as we think we know, we probably assume things that are not completely true, and the problems we think others should have solved are probably more complicated and nuanced than any one news story or post on a comment board has captured. I don’t really have an opinion about the development in this story, but I’m curious to learn more about it. After that, we’ll see. But I do wish the public discourse on the state of our police force would elevate above the level of your post, Brandon (you’re not the only one — every time there’s a crime post, they get recycled). Politicians will only be as good as we expect them to be and when we ignore details and jump to easy conclusions, we let them know that we will vote based on who confirms our biases rather than on who can govern effectively and fairly. As a public, we have to create a higher standard by holding ourselves to it.
- Kadoo May 29, 2024 (4:07 pm)
  
  Tired of Vitriol: amen!
- Gigi May 29, 2024 (6:01 pm)
  
  100% agree. Thank you for taking the time to remind us of our responsibility to learn as much as possible about an issue before jumping to a conclusion.

Jay May 29, 2024 (2:35 pm)

Not many jobs where you can sexually harass women subordinates and block women from getting promotions and keep your job and paycheck.

Woman in the Workplace May 29, 2024 (7:49 pm)

Have you never been in the workforce or are you just naive? This is not uncommon behavior at all. Better than it was in the 1980s, but still rampant.
Reply to Jay May 30, 2024 (11:21 am)

@Jay says: “Not many jobs where you can sexually harass women subordinates and block women from getting promotions and keep your job and paycheck.” I think that the place @Jay is thinking about is called Amazon. First link from 2021. Second link from 2021. It employs quite a few people here in the Seattle area. I don’t think the problem has stopped or is always makes the news.

SPD:”Let’s pretend to make personnel changes” May 29, 2024 (2:37 pm)

Mayor Harrell has stood behind Diaz since he was interim chief and still decided to continue with an official appointment. The fact that there are lawsuits against one leader and another still supports them staying on the agency that they are accused of perpetrating harassment is a JOKE like the MAYOR is. Diaz will be laughing to the bank with the continued salary and pension. The city is ran by losers.

WE NEED NEW LEADERSHIP THAT ISN’T RELATED TO ED ‘ALLEGED RAPIST’ MURRAY or JENNY ‘DOESN’T GIVE A F’ DURKAN.

Larch May 29, 2024 (2:45 pm)

I don’t truly have a horse in this race, but feel the need to point out that commenters seem to be forgetting that the accusations against Diaz are just that – accusations, not proof of wrongdoing. Every internet forum needs a nice ‘innocent until proven guilty’ reminder now and then, don’t you think?

Bilge May 29, 2024 (3:18 pm)

That’s the standard for proof in a criminal trial. For most people, a serious, credible accusation of illegal misconduct would in fact lead to losing your job even before the trial. And personally, I think cops should be held to a higher standard, not a lower one.
- Sept May 29, 2024 (7:33 pm)
  
  What? No it doesn’t necessarily
K May 29, 2024 (4:39 pm)

This is the WSB comments section. Everyone is assumed guilty and deserving of life behind bars until there is a full press conference with apology from investigators stating they have been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt to have been the victim of misidentification or other erroneous assumptions and have never been any kind of criminal ever in their lives (or homeless or poor or other things that count as criminal behavior in commenters’ minds even if it doesn’t count in the penal code). If your random neighbors can get the witch hunt treatment here, so can Diaz.

Alki resident May 29, 2024 (2:48 pm)

I predicted this morning that Diaz would be out. The whole SPD needs to be weeded through. It’s a shame how many people were harassed for one reason or another. My heart goes out to those victims. I don’t trust Harrell, hopefully he’s next.

Meeeee May 29, 2024 (2:59 pm)

The fact that Harrell didn’t immediately move Diaz back to his lieutenant rank (his rank before making Chief) shows what a weak leader Harrell is.Diaz serves entirely at the pleasure of Harrell–and Harrell danced around whether Diaz would be able to retain his nearly $300K salary while this whole reset/investigation takes place. If Diaz is out as Chief, then he should be busted back down to lieutenant.Rahr will be a decent interim chief, her hands are tied to make any huge changes though. SPOG runs the department, just look at their most recent contract which granted them a whole bunch but didn’t include any changes in holding officers accountable or more transparency for us in the public sphere.

Jason May 29, 2024 (3:38 pm)

Uh, did you not read the allegations against him? Why should he not be fired outright? I don’t like Harrell but you seem to not get why he was fired to begin with.
- So, Jason... May 29, 2024 (6:11 pm)
  
  Jason, if someone who was passed over for your job accused you of sexual harassment or any misconduct at work, you think you should lose your job without due process?

Rhonda May 29, 2024 (3:34 pm)

Replacing bad with worse. Diaz fired good officers for simply not taking the experimental vaccines/boosters. Crime has exploded under his watch and violent criminals come to Seattle from nearby municipalities to enjoy less law enforcement intervention. Rahr hates police officers and wrote a scathing article in the Atlantic years ago about how violent law enforcement officers have become. This whole mess is a train wreck.

WSB May 29, 2024 (3:56 pm)

Perhaps you mean the article the mayor’s office linked at the very end of the news release. I can’t read beyond the first few grafs because it’s paywalled, but that seems to be the premise.
- Rhonda May 29, 2024 (4:13 pm)
  
  Affirmative.
walkerws May 29, 2024 (4:57 pm)

If they wouldn’t take a safe and effective vaccine, they weren’t good officers.
Peter May 29, 2024 (8:22 pm)

If the extreme right wing conspiracy theorist anti-vac idiot lunatics think it’s a “train wreck,” that proves the city and our police are moving in the right direction.
Amy May 29, 2024 (10:04 pm)

It was a city policy all employees needed to get the vaccine, especially those working in close contact with the public. They fired themselves.
- NorskGirl May 30, 2024 (8:18 am)
  
  Yes.
CAM May 29, 2024 (11:29 pm)

Offering honest criticism of people in your profession and the path that profession has been headed down would in fact suggest the opposite of “hating” what you do for a living. If you don’t have enough backbone to stand up for what’s right to ensure the continued improvement of your chosen profession, you are the problem, not the person willing to do the hard work to make things better.
Jay May 30, 2024 (5:34 am)

Firing anti-vaxxers was good policy. If someone is that deep in conspiracy theory they can’t be trusted to perform the job of a law enforcement officer.
Ivan Weiss May 30, 2024 (6:51 am)

When a police officer, whose job is to protect public safety, willfully refuses a direct order to take a public health precaution that has been proven to lessen the chances of getting, or spreading, a deadly virus, that is not a “good officer.”
K May 30, 2024 (7:09 am)

I was on the fence about this, but all the things written in that article (hardly “scathing”, but I digress) give me hope. I don’t think one person will be able to completely root out the deep cultural issues within SPD, especially when the gutless city council is unlikely to back any major policy changes with regard to police, but at least having someone at the helm who can see the problems for what they are and try to stop it from getting worse–rather than joining in, as Diaz did–is a tiny step in the right direction.
Dave May 30, 2024 (11:27 am)

Let folks read that and see if they agree.https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/01/police-brutality-shootings-derek-chauvin/672873/

Del Griffith May 29, 2024 (5:08 pm)

The bigger leadership problem is in the police Union. Very little progress is going to made until that Union gets its stuff together. I don’t think people appreciate how difficult they are to deal with.

valvashon May 29, 2024 (8:22 pm)

Maybe Seattle should just contract with the King County Sheriff’s department for law enforcement within the Seattle City limits and be done with it. SPD has been under some sort of improvement plan for how long? There might not be any fixing of that organization.

waikikigirl May 30, 2024 (7:13 am)

@Valvashon, That’s a good thought but have you been to Burien lately? The City of Burien contracts with the KC Sheriff’s Department, have you taken a good look at the mess they’re currently in?
- CAM May 31, 2024 (1:23 am)
  
  If by “mess” you are referring to the increase in the unhoused population in Burien, I would hope you are looking at their city council who are attempting to write legislation to basically make it illegal to have shelters/temporary housing anywhere in Burien. I don’t think the sheriff’s department is contributing to that particular “mess.”
Anne May 31, 2024 (11:15 am)

Thanks for that- haven’t had such a good laugh in a long time. If you think KCSO is any better than SPD- you are sadly mistaken. Dow Constantine IS KCSO- the current Sheriff is Sheriff in name only. If your idea of better LE includes DOW running things -it’s polar opposite from my idea of better.

Eric1 May 29, 2024 (8:39 pm)

This all seems like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. There is a new captain, purser, conductor, etc… and you could even change the whole crew, yet nobody acknowledges that there is a big hole in the ship USS Seattle. The old crew that hit the iceberg and the builders who made a shoddy vessel are nowhere to be found and are desperately trying to be forgotten as they row their lifeboats away as quickly as possible. I feel sorry for those of you that haven’t made your way to the lifeboat station yet, still believing the officials that tell you that the ship has merely stopped out of an abundance of caution after hitting some ice. Rest assured, they have found only superficial damage and we will resume our voyage shortly. I haven’t abandoned ship yet, but I have one foot is in the lifeboat and plans have been made to abandon ship if the list to starboard gets worse.