View this post on Instagram
By Erica C. Barnett
Editor’s note: This post, originally part of today’s Morning Fizz, has been updated and expanded to include new information.
Yesterday’s mass shooting at Seattle Center, in which a gunman killed three people and injured five more, was the type of violent incident that, historically, has prompted Seattle police chiefs to rush to the scene to demonstrate the seriousness of the situation and answer questions from members of the press.
But the city’s current police chief, Shon Barnes, was nowhere to be seen on Sunday. As he has been for many weekends since he took the $373,000 job in December 2024, Barnes was out of town. According to multiple sources, Barnes planned to be out of town until mid-August, taking several weeks away from Seattle during the period when shootings and other violent incidents are most likely to occur. Barnes also took two weeks off during the most recent winter holidays, including New Year’s Eve.
As we’ve reported, Barnes rents an apartment in Seattle and makes frequent trips to his family residence in Chicago, where his wife and kids live full-time. Last year at this time, PubliCola reported that Barnes’ schedule showed he spent most weekends, beginning on Friday afternoons, out of town, attending conferences, going to events related to his college fraternity, giving keynote speeches, or spending time with his family in Chicago.
PubliCola sent detailed questions about the police chief’s whereabouts to SPD on Sunday night and Monday morning and had received no response or acknowledgement by late morning. However, Barnes’ Facebook page, where he has chronicled many of his trips, indicates he was at a conference for the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives in Dallas. He was back in Seattle this morning for a press conference on the shooting at City Hall.
(After this post went up, a city spokesperson contacted us to ask for a correction, saying we had inaccurately claimed Barnes was in Chicago, which we did not; our article this morning included the paragraph above about Barnes’ attendance at the NOBLE event. Despite the apparent urgency of this call, SPD still has not responded to any of our questions sent over the past two days.)
Barnes, who received a $50,000 recruitment bonus to leave his previous job as police chief of Madison, WI, was also out of town during a major SPD incident last May, in which police pepper-sprayed and arrested dozens of counter-protesters at a rally and concert held by anti-trans right-wing activists at Cal Anderson Park on Capitol Hill, Seattle’s historic LGBTQ+ neighborhood. Barnes’ family also lived in Chicago while he was Madison’s police chief, although those two cities are only about a three hours’ drive apart.
During a press conference late Monday morning, a reporter asked Barnes if he was out of town this weekend, as I reported on Sunday. His response: “I wish I had a crystal ball and we could schedule gun violence but we can’t.”
At the end of the press conference, Barnes snapped at South Seattle Emerald reporter Connor Nash, who asked him about my reporting that he is out of town a lot. FOX 13 anchor Hana Kim posted video (above) that showed Barnes becoming “confrontational,” as Kim put it, snapping, “I have been here working as hard as I can for this city from the day I got here. Do you got that?”
As Nash continued to ask his question, Barnes cut him off. “No, no, you listen to me.”
“The reports are that you are not in town—often,” Nash persisted. “Their reports are wrong. You understand that?” Barnes said, as his chief of staff Alex Ricketts pushed himself physically between Barnes and Nash, saying, “Let’s go, man. Let’s go. Let’s go” and escorting Barnes back inside the mayor’s office.
We’ve reached out to the mayor’s office about Barnes’ outsize response to the question about his schedule and will update this post if we hear back.
Certainly, the optics don’t look very good when you are missing from the podium during a city crisis over a mass shooting, but I am inclined to cut Chief Barnes some slack, as he DOES work very hard for the city when he is here. As a family person, I also know how tough it is for him to be away from his family for extended periods of time, so he is making a REAL sacrifice for the city by being here in-person every week.
I think the focus should be on what he is doing while he is here, not giving him a lot of flack for spending time with his family out-of-state on the weekends.
Most public agencies (UW, cities, counties, Port of Seattle) drill disaster preparedness responses. They set aside time to engage those who are a part of the response to a public shooting, bomb threat, earthquake, flood, etc.
Apparently our (entirely) clueless Mayor had no plan for engagement, did she? Where was the staff at the Seattle Center? They were on the premises, probably waiting for the people with instructions to show up.
That miserable cow of a police chief proved he was as ready at as the police response to Uvalde shootings. Send him back to Chicago – his brand of idiocy and cowardice aren’t needed.
Ah for the days when our leadership was prepared on how to lead and when to lead. Mayor Bunhead will form a Wisdom Circle and when she’s done circling the clouds, she will hold a press conference with whoever is unlucky enough to be her spokesmodel du jour.
Efty dear, we are all old enough to Google. But sure, here you go.
Poll: Most Washington voters oppose state income tax, disapprove governor | Washington | thecentersquare.com https://share.google/oqDrDuzYYLWzSAD1C
That poll is on a state income tax, not the one being voted on in the ballot measure. If you believe junk polls made by hacks, sure, but in the real world people support the millionaire’s tax.
https://www.nwprogressive.org/weblog/2026/07/right-wing-talk-show-host-jason-rantz-keeps-demonstrating-hed-rather-blatantly-spin-poll-results-than-honestly-interpret-them.html
I don’t see how the ballot measure is not a “state income tax”.
Anyhow, the voters have repeatedly voted against an income tax in the past. Let’s hope they have the good sense to do so again.
The ballot measure is for the specific state income tax passed by the legislature last year. That is different than any income tax in general. And it’s worth saying that presenting polling on a ballot measure that does not use the ballot measure text (which by law includes fiscal impacts) is obviously misleading. There has been one vote on income taxes since 1982 – an 2010 ballot measure on income over $200k (single filers) or $400k (join filers). It lost handily, but state politics were wildly different in 2010 and 2010 was the middle of the recession.
Why are you even against an income tax?
Eliminating mass surveillances is a whole lotta money!
Big whoop, Shon Barnes wasn’t in town. Karen Bass wasn’t in LA when the Palisades fire broke out either. She wasn’t even in the country. But leftists were all too willing to give her a pass. Leave the poor Police Chief alone. He’s doing his best to maintain law and order in this deeply flawed city.
Have you seen the polls showing a vast majority of WA residents oppose the income tax? They aren’t stupid. They understand the tax will drive out job creators. That it already has driven out job creators. They understand that the minute the state needs more revenue, the $1 million deduction will be lowered. They understand that 8 million Washington State citizens cannot enjoy a sustainable budget on the backs of only 20,000 individuals. For the love of God, let’s hope those polls are accurate.
“They understand the tax will drive out job creators.”
That is a load. “like bye” to Starswill. TN Marsha Blackburn gave Howie a 1/4 billion to move there. All Howie does is skim cream. Sold the Sonics too. He’s a terrible businessman.
How’d Bezos get so rich here?
Seattle is a premium location for businesses. You got to pay it forward. “Trickle Down” turns out to be a scam. NONE trickles and fight like hell to keep every cent.
“Job creators”…Companies are people too right? 47th most regressive tax state is not good enough to keep businesses here? The greed is too much to take. 50 years flat wages. Still not enough? McDonalds and Walmart et ilk pay nothing while their profit generators are on welfare. Companies make trillions a year doing things like that. Then crying about paying ANY percentage tax.
Millionaires and above are going to pay. If they are that greedy? Go take advantage of the hillbillies. They are begging for companies to move.
Ah, using the term “hillbillies” pretty much sums up your misunderstanding of America. I love the PNW, I love Seattle, but the rest of the Country is pretty great too! Places like Dallas and Nashville are alive, dynamic cities with plenty to offer. Seattle pretty much was the golden child of American cities for last 25 years, and even without increased taxes, it’s likely venture capitalists and creative types might pick another town to settle into. Seattle has a long history of boom and bust cycles and do you honestly think that’s over?
When the rich kids get mad and take their toys and leave…. there’s no more toys. Look, nobody really likes the rich kids, but Amazon drops a whole lot cash into the local economy the rest of need. You think homeless is bad now? Chase away the money’d class and everything will just get worse. Teachers and social workers are the first to suffer here, so be very careful what you wish for.
Vibe, bro, get your facts straight.
Schultz moved to Florida, not Tennessee.
And if you are saying Tennessee “bribed” Starbucks to expand there, then you also aren’t talking about Schultz. He resigned as CEO and Chairman of the Board in 2023.
If you can’t understand simple facts there is no point attempting to refute your other nonsense statements.
LOL! Saying state voters would rather comfort their feudal masters and the value they create for their humble servants over making the rich pay their fair share is hardly an argument. It’s a funny caricature of how right wingie dingers think, but certainly isn’t serious. Particularly as a thread hijacker. Come on, Lord DavidInWahington! Being so superior to the rest of us by representing the creators, certainly you can do better for us taking low lifes!
After that I guess it really is no big deal that Shon Barnes is police chief MIA. /sarc
The richest 10% of Americans pay 70.5% of all federal individual income taxes.
But they aren’t paying their fair share.
LOL! 😆 🤣 😂
“Have you seen the polls showing a vast majority of WA residents oppose the income tax? ”
No, because you did not cite nor link them, literally the least you could do on the internet.
You didn’t cite them because they don’t exist. You are a liar and a fabulist.
But that’s just on the internet. IRL you are a loser