By Erica C. Barnett
On Wednesday, Seattle Mayor-Elect Katie Wilson announced that she plans to retain Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes, along with Fire Chief Harold Scoggins, CARE Department Chief Amy Barden, and Office of Emergency Management director Curry Mayer.
PubliCola broke the news about Barnes on Bluesky earlier this afternoon.
Barnes’ future has been the source of much speculation, with people familiar with Wilson’s thinking reporting that she remained on the fence about whether to keep Barnes or find a new chief as of last week. Barnes’ supporters, including City Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth and the downtown business community, made a case for continuity that even his detractors on Team Wilson came around to: For a new mayor, especially one painted by her opponents as a “defund the police” radical, to immediately fire the police chief could create an impression of instability. Better to get to know Barnes, establish some expectations, and see if he meets them.
We have a call out to Hollingsworth to get her response to Wilson’s decision and find out more about why she advocated for Barnes to stay.
“I understand public safety as a shared responsibility, requiring police, fire, emergency management, alternative responders, service providers, community leaders, businesses, and residents to work together to get results,” Wilson said in a statement. “And it is time to build a coordinated, modern system which reflects that shared responsibility and helps us address our most difficult challenges, including persistent neighborhood-based safety issues, gun violence, behavioral health, and substance abuse.”
Wilson will work with Barnes, she continued, “to make SPD a place where professionalism, integrity, compassion, and community partnership are at the center of every action,” where promotions are “rooted in performance, integrity, and good judgment, and every SPD employee will be encouraged to share concerns, experiences, and good-faith feedback with leadership.”
One of Barnes’ recent missteps was promoting Mike Tietjen as commander the East Precinct over Doug Raguso, a gay lieutenant who had been serving as interim commander of the precinct, located in the heart of Capitol. Hill. Tietjen was disciplined during the 2020 CHOP protests for, among other things, driving onto a sidewalk filled with protesters and failing to report his colleagues’ alleged harassment of a trans woman.
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Barnes has also faced criticism for cultivating what some have described as a bunker-like atmosphere, consulting only with a small inner circle of hand-picked advisors and firing longtime SPD staffers who worked under multiple previous police chiefs.
Wilson was not immediately available for an interview about her decision to retain Barnes.
On Tuesday, the city council approved a new police contract that gives police a 42 percent raise with minimal improvements to accountability. The police contract also hampers the CARE Team’s ability to respond to calls, prohibiting the unarmed first responders from helping people inside most buildings as well as cars and homeless encampments, and from responding if a person has been using drugs or appears to have committed any crime.
In a statement, Barnes said he was “extremely honored and grateful to continue in my role as Chief of Police for the Seattle Police Department and for the amazing community that I have come to care for here in Seattle.
“Public safety is a shared value, and our priorities remain intact: crime prevention, community engagement, retention and recruitment of a qualified workforce, safety and wellness, and continuous improvement,” Barnes continued.
“These priorities will guide the Seattle Police Department into 2026. They will also position us to become a national model for exceptional policing under the leadership of Mayor Wilson and her dedicated staff. Personally, I consider this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and one I do not take lightly or for granted.”
And lo, the solitary beam of hope was swiftly swallowed up by the thick cloud of dismay; and darkness returned, as in the former time.
Well, I am sure Barnes knows he is on a short leash. If citizen complaints mount based on continued police abuse of power and lack of accountability, he is gone. Seattle does NOT want to go back to pre-consent decree lack of accountability, in which police supervisors routinely covered up the misconduct of their officers.
mkayyyyyy
A 42% raise?!? Just a bit of typo there.