Seattle’s police chief has been removed from his post, mayor Bruce Harrell said Wednesday, just days after a deputy police chief was fired and amid lawsuits from at least six officers alleging discrimination against women and people of color.
Harrell said Chief Adrian Diaz has been replaced in the meantime by Sue Rahr, former sheriff of King County, where Seattle is located. Rahr most recently led the state’s police academy. She will not be considered a permanent replacement, Harrell said, and Diaz will be reassigned to work on “special assignments.”
At a news conference Wednesday to make the announcement, Harrell praised Diaz as a friend with “irreproachable integrity.”
“Now we’re looking at the internal culture, of course, of the police department,” Harrell said. “We’re trying to create a department that’s representative of who we are in the best way.”
He also said Diaz realized the kind of cultural change the department wants could be better achieved by his departure.
Harrell said recent allegations of discrimination, harassment and bias led him to appoint an independent investigator to look into the allegations.
Last week, Eric Greening, a 30-year veteran of the force, sued Diaz, alleging that he had retaliated against him after reporting discriminatory practices within the department. Greening’s lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court, also names the city as a defendant. Greening alleges that Diaz rejected his application for deputy chief and his application to reapply for assistant chief, demoted him to the rank of captain and abolished the Office of Collaborative Policing, which he led.
In response to the lawsuit, Diaz’s attorney said in a statement before his firing: “Chief Diaz is confident that an objective review of the circumstances underlying Mr. Greening’s allegations will show that the department’s actions were appropriate.”
Last month, four female officers filed a $5 million tort claim, alleging that they were and are subject to sexual discrimination, sexual harassment and a hostile work environment. The complaint was filed against the city and its police department on behalf of Kame Spencer, Judinna (Jean) Gulpan, Valerie Carson and Lauren Truscott on April 25. It lists Diaz, Lt. John O’Neil and human resources manager Rebecca McKechnie as “primary perpetrators.”
The police department said it does not comment on pending litigation. The City Attorney’s Office said it does not comment on pending complaints or litigation. O’Neil and McKechnie did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“As a Hispanic American with decades of experience in law enforcement, Chief Diaz has faced significant discrimination throughout his career,” Diaz’s attorney, Ted Buck, said in a statement last month. “He understands well the negative impact this can have both personally and professionally.”
Building on that experience, Buck said, Diaz faced discrimination head-on as chief and is proud of the department’s record in addressing and overcoming inherent racism and sexism during his tenure.
The city has 60 days to respond to the civil action filed by the four police officers.
Sumeer Singla, a lawyer for the four women, said in an interview Thursday that Diaz’s firing further legitimizes their claim. Singla said the day after the filing, the police department hinted in a statement that his clients were liars who had individual complaints that generated media headlines.
“Fast forward, 30 days later, the police chief is being reassigned,” he said. “It’s hard not to think that the mayor’s actions are adding legitimacy to my clients’ claims.”
Singla added, “This department has not been repaired or healed from the evils that were brought against it during the consent decree,” referring to a federal consent decree Seattle was placed under in 2012 after police shot and killed John Williams in 2010. A federal judge ended most provisions of the consent decree last year.
The city also faces a lawsuit filed by Denise “Cookie” Bouldin, one of the first African-American women to join the department in the 1970s. She alleges in a lawsuit filed in November that she witnessed and endured decades of racist and gender bias on the part of their superiors and other officers.
“She files this claim in hopes that the department will authentically address issues related to racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination that she has faced during her career,” the lawsuit says. The lawsuit does not refer to Diaz.
Another woman, Deanna Nollette, a 27-year veteran of the force who rose to the rank of deputy chief in 2018, sued Diaz and the police department in January, alleging gender, pay and employment discrimination. Nollette’s lawsuit says she was assistant chief of the criminal investigations department last year. She alleges that Diaz “is demeaning to women on the police force” and “has a history of misogyny.” The lawsuit says she applied for the chief position, which Diaz held on an interim basis, and that when he was named chief, he demoted her to captain.
Diaz’s attorney said his client “was disappointed that a routine personal decision led to these demonstrably false allegations” and that the facts would show the allegations were completely unfounded.
At Wednesday’s news conference, Diaz held back tears as he read a brief statement.
“I have achieved a lot in my four years as chief, but there is more to be done,” he said.
Diaz’s firing follows last week’s announcement that Assistant Chief Tyrone Davis had been placed on administrative leave.
A representative from the Office of Police Accountability, an independent civilian-run agency, confirmed Thursday that it received a tip about Davis on May 8 and subsequently began an investigation. An agency representative said he could not comment further. Davis commands the department’s Special Operations Bureau, which includes its SWAT team. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Diaz took over as interim chief in 2020 after Carmen Best resigned after a summer of demonstrations during the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the City Council approved department reduction. He was named to lead the department in 2022.
Harrell said he was intentionally looking outside the department for the next chief “to maybe tap into some of the talent in other cities.”
He said he hopes to hire a new chief within six months.
This article was originally published in NBCNews. with
