By Erica C. Barnett
After a silence of nearly 24 hours, Mayor Katie Wilson announced at 3:30 this afternoon that Police Chief Shon Barnes has resigned and will be replaced on an interim basis by one of his two deputies, Andre Sayles.
Wilson asked for Barnes’ resignation yesterday, but discussions over how much he will receive in severance did not conclude until late this afternoon, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.
In an interview late Thursday afternoon, Wilson told PubliCola, “Last night, we agreed [on Barnes’ resignation] at a very high level and needed some extra time to make sure that we were entirely on the same page about the path forward and how we were rolling it out. And in addition, we had to figure out interim leadership for the department. So there were a lot of details and moving pieces that needed to be settled before it was appropriate to make a public statement.”
PubliCola reported on the mayor’s decision last night.
Barnes’ family lives at their home in Chicago while he rents an apartment here, and he has been under fire recently for his frequent absences from the city. Those absences have included trips around the country to conferences as well as trips home to see his family in Chicago. PubliCola first reported on Barnes’ heavy travel schedule last July, and was the first to report that he was out of town, at a conference in Dallas, when a mass shooting took place at Seattle center on Sunday.
When South Seattle Emerald reporter Connor Nash asked Barnes about my reporting on his absences, the police chief lashed out, telling Nash “no, you listen to me!” before he was hustled away, still sputtering, by his chief of staff Alex Ricketts.
Asked if Barnes’ outsize reaction to a reporter’s question about his schedulewas a factor in her decision to ditch the chief, Wilson said, “there were multiple factors and considerations that informed the conversation that the chief and I had that led to this call, and obviously, how Sunday unfolded and the aftermath was part of that, but not certainly not the only thing. I don’t believe I’m someone who acts rashly, and there were multiple considerations in this decision.”
Sayles’ family, like Barnes’, lives outside the state—in Illinois, just across the border from Beloit, WI, a small town where Sayles was police chief before Barnes appointed him deputy chief in Seattle. We’ve requested his schedule to see how much time he has spent with his family in Illinois. Asked if she was concerned about hiring another chief whose family home is out of state, Wilson said, “I want to emphasize that this is an interim role, and also that Deputy Chief Sayles understands the importance of presence in Seattle during this interim period.” (Editor’s note: This post originally said Sayles’ family home is in Wisconsin; we’ve updated the post to reflect that they live in Illinois.)
City council members have criticized the mayor’s decision, which leaves the police department without permanent leadership during an active investigation of a major shooting incident and with one potential suspect still at large. City council members were quick to criticize the decision, with Rob Saka and Maritza Rivera criticizing the decision before it was official on Thursday. A majority of the council has reportedly expressed disapproval of the decision, according to sources familiar with the council’s reaction.
Progressive Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck expressed frustration with the lack of information from the mayor’s office, saying in a statement, “I am disappointed that I found out about the possible dismissal of Chief Barnes from reports on social media last night and did not receive any update or information about this development from the Mayor or Mayor’s Office until mid-morning today. Chief Barnes’ recent interactions with press have been concerning, but I have yet to receive an explanation of what decisions have or haven’t been made, or full rationale behind why any decision has been made.”
Wilson said she gets that “many of the council members strongly disagree with the path that we’re on with this decision” but dismissed the idea that they would try to block her when it comes time to appoint a new permanent chief. “I believe that moving forward, we will be able to work together to select an excellent candidate for our next chief.”
Barnes issued a statement Thursday evening, which read in part, “Dr. Barnes is a long-time law enforcement leader known for establishing a culture of excellence and procedural justice within the departments he has led and the communities he has served. He brought the same steadfast leadership and professionalism to the City of Seattle that has defined his law enforcement career, which resulted in a substantial reduction in the city’s crime rates and an important vision for further reduction in the years to come.” Barnes, who has not typically used the title “doctor” while serving as police chief, has a Ph.D. in Leadership Studies from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.
On Thursday afternoon, reporters swarmed the lobby of City Hall, doing standups at 4pm waiting around all day for interviews and information. Wilson gave one-on-one interviews to a handful of reporters (Publicola’s is supposed to happen at 4), which prompted those left downstairs, including TV reporters who have hounded Wilson and blamed her for inaccurate information and delays in the hours and days after the shooting. Cameramen and reporters could be heard grousing about the differential treatment; Wilson plans to hold a general press conference at 11:00 tomorrow morning.
“I understand the frustration and the desire for information, and in this case, I don’t think that was avoidable,” Wilson said.
Interim Chief Sayles, like Assistant Chief Nicole Powell and Barnes himself, accepted a $50,000 hiring bonus intended to recruit experienced rank and file police officers from other departments during what police described as a hiring crisis. The terms of the bonus require officers to return the money, on a prorated basis, if they serve less than five years. We’ve reached out to the mayor’s office to find out whether Barnes will have to return his bonus.
The police chief was a bum. If any normal person was “working out of town” for at least 7 weeks of the year they’d have been shown the door forever ago. But this guy gets to pretend to have a connection or give a damn about this city beyond us being the one signing his paychecks while never bothering to move fully out here. Typical Bruce Harrell decision, ignore anything you don’t like and pretend it doesn’t matter.
I agree Katie Wilson got a raw deal coming in to him already being in the job, and this instance where he was trying to lead from afar just shows exactly why he needs to go.
And this bullshit about “oh but Seattle needs a leader now”… yes, we always need a leader. There is always gun violence in this city, this was just a place where affluent white people were close to the shooting and so it gets more attention.
Good riddance, let’s get someone in leadership who actually, you know, wants to be here.
Time to MOVE ON and focus on recruiting the best police chief for Seattle that shares Katie’s vision for policing in in the city. It was always problematic for Barnes, as his policing vision was aligned with the previous mayor and centrist Council members. That vision was throwing more and more money at the police and wrongly equating more police with lower crime. It is a throwback to the “dumb on crime” push from the 1990s.
Seattle is a modern city, so its policing should utilize the best evidence-based policing models from around the country and the world. Smarter policing is no longer optional, as the city is facing a steep budget shortfall and needs to figure out quickly how to do more with fewer officers. SPD is now 50% of the city’s general fund, and growing, and this is simply not sustainable.
There was a very recent study of Denver’s alternative policing model called STAR (see attached article below). The study found that with Denver’s STAR, there was a 34% drop in low-level crime (1,400 fewer offenses) compared to neighborhoods without STAR. Those encountering STAR were 16% less likely to be arrested or have police contact in the following year, and this number was 2-3 times larger for those experiencing homelessness. STAR costs $151 per incident versus $646 for traditional police. This is a HUGE savings by allowing effective city policing with fewer traditional officers.
Seattle needs this savings desperately, so SPOG is going to have to put aside its reflexive “more money, more police” position for the overall welfare of the city.
https://www.denvergov.org/files/assets/public/v/1/public-health-and-environment/images/cbh/aligning-crisis-response-with-community-needs.pdf
Does Katie even know how to call a press conference, send a text or tweet? Does Katie keep Seattle waiting on whether her police chief was fired or resigned for a whole day when social media is on fire? Katie, here’s a lesson you should have learned while working, bad news is not like a fine wine, it doesn’t get better with time. It’s so much better to get out in front of it and own it. Now pull up your big girl panties and get back to work before WE FIRE YOU,
I’ll guess Mayor Wilson didn’t think Barnes’ domestic arrangements represented a commitment to Seattle she expects from someone in his position, and consequently she had him on double secret probation. Perhaps his sales ability fell short when dealing with someone with sensitive bs detector.
Man knows how to swiftly blow a gig. That takes experience.
Katie Wilson is the chief executive and the buck stops with her.
What did she know? When did she know it? What did she do?
So… This is a big fuck up. If he had performance issues, you look into them and you address them. But, you don’t force someone out for something that many other senior leaders probably do to some degree. And if we’re not really going to investigate who’s doing it, and/or who is using their position in government for personal gain, then this is probably some part personal. It’s a likely combination of horrible, horrible judgment on her part (she’s flailing at this point) and something personal that’s been going on. Fuck the chief… He seriously is a big L… But Katie has seriously fucked this up and has been extremely out of her depth.
And you definitely don’t do it in 24 hours amid a literal city crisis. This is insanity. And I’m a hardcore leftist… She’s just weak willed.
Do you have information on “many other senior leaders” who live outside the state while working in high profile/highly paid jobs?
As far as performance issues being addressed you can refer to “there were multiple factors and considerations that informed the conversation that the chief and I had that led to this call, and obviously, how Sunday unfolded and the aftermath was part of that, but not certainly not the only thing.” This is not a one and done situation, I expect his “phone it in” management style was just one of the things that came up.
If you take a $50,000 signing bonus — which would easily move your family to your new city — and continue to spend a lot of time away from your job, you lose credibility. A lot of people in seattle don’t make $50,000 in a full year, and not in one sweetener.
It’s easily investigated and shouldn’t require a significant burden of truth to prompt such an investigation–the deputy chief is in a similar situation! Lol. Also, your defense fails to account for the fact that this creates further disruption and uncertainty in a time of crisis, among communities who support him and a police force dealing with an active investigation and a summer of gun violence. There’s been no leadership in her lack of transparency around whatever you are inferring. Katie is purely uncouth and unsophisticated.
He needed to be gone and Katie is to be commended for firing Barnes but what I am most impressed with is that it took 40 minutes from presser to my email. Nice job Errica!
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