Tag: Mike Tietjen

Mayor Harrell, Police

Reversing Decision, SPD Removes Controversial Captain Tietjen from East Precinct
Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes (l) and Michael Tietjen (center) pose during a celebration of Tietjen’s promotion to captain of Capitol Hill’s East Precinct

By Erica C. Barnett

Two days after PubliCola exclusively reported that  Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes had promoted controversial police lieutenant Michael Tietjen to captain and put him in charge of Capitol Hill’s East Precinct, Barnes announced internally that he was removing Tietjen and appointing a new commander for the precinct.

In an internal email to SPD command staff, Barnes blamed our article for “leading to a crisis of confidence among our LGBTQIA+ community members” and said his decision stemmed from “internal leaks” and “a lack of comprehensive input from those involved in employee assignments” for his decision to remove Tietjen.

Tietjen became infamous during the 2020 protests against police violence after he drove his unmarked SUV onto a sidewalk full of people and, when they scattered, referred to them as “cockroaches.” His punishment in that case was being reassigned to a different precinct. Tietjen was suspended without pay for another protest-related incident, in which he shoved a person who was trying to render aid to a demonstrator blinded by tear gas into a bus stop, slamming the man’s head into the structure.

That same summer, Tietjen was reprimanded for failing to act when he was in an SUV full of police who allegedly harassed a trans woman, asking her if she “had a dick under” her skirt. Tiejten has a child who is part of the LGBTQ+ community, from whom he is estranged.

In the email, Barnes blamed “internal leaks within our department” as well as PubliCola’s article for creating “unease” that forced his hand.

Among the immediate concerns is a recent article that has raised unease within the East Precinct, leading to a crisis of confidence among our LGBTQIA+ community members. This situation has prompted several community partners to withdraw their support. To address this, I will be reassigning our East Precinct Commander and appointing a new leader to help restore our community engagement efforts. This decision stems from a lack of comprehensive input from those involved in employee assignments and internal leaks within our department. My priority is to always restore trust within our community.

Far from resulting from “leaks,” Barnes’ decision reportedly received massive internal and external pushback after PubliCola reported it. Mayor Bruce Harrell’s office reportedly did not support Tietjen’s appointment and may have been blindsided by the decision.

Mayor Bruce Harrell’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

At a recent debate, Harrell, who is seeking a second term, called Barnes a “superstar” who could “work for any department in this country”.  “[He’s] a PhD, he’s a Marine, he’s smart, and he has a great command team,” Harrell said of Barnes.

After this article ran, SPD provided the following statement:

This summer, SPD proudly continued to build support and collaboration across the community of Seattle through extensive neighborhood meetings and district public safety forums.

After a recent standard promotion process where we promoted several highly qualified candidates, we received additional information and feedback that had not been previously surfaced. As Mayor Harrell has said, we are a learning organization, and the SPD executive team took this as an opportunity to improve the process. Moving forward, promotional decisions will feature a full review of the person’s history to ensure we place the right candidate in the right position. As a department, we are committed to bolstering relationships throughout Seattle and continuous improvement.

Joel Merkel, the co-chair of the Community Police Commission, told PubliCola after our story came out that promoting Tietjen to head up the East Precinct raised concerns about Chief Barnes’  “knowledge and insight into SPD’s history history and dynamics … particularly as we’re trying to change the culture of SPD.”

We’ve reached out to SPD for comment.

Barnes’ letter went on to say that if SPD leaders aren’t “aligned with” the department’s strategy toward “human trafficking along the Aurora Street corridor.”” they should “have an open conversation with me or consider their place within our department.”

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PubliCola reported yesterday on the promotion of Marc Garth Green, a former deputy chief who was demoted by former chief Carmen Best after he made insensitive comments about sex workers on Aurora Ave. N in 2019, saying that many of them “liked” being out there. Garth Green was defending a policy SPD had at the time of arresting sex workers, rather than focusing on buyers. Currently, SPD uses elaborate sting operations to catch men trying to pay for sex, a misdemeanor; these operations, which require special training and can involve as many as 20 officers, have long been a staple of SPD’s response to street sex work.

SPD’s “ongoing initiative to combat human trafficking along the Aurora Street corridor has faced internal resistance,” Barnes wrote. “I want to reiterate that both I and the mayor’s office fully support this program. Leadership sometimes involves taking risks, and I firmly believe that proactive measures are necessary, even in the face of opposition. Those who are not aligned with this mission are encouraged to have an open conversation with me or consider their place within our department.”

Barnes also noted that there has been “scrutiny regarding the sharing of public records with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),” a reference to independent journalist Glen Stellmacher’s story alleging that SPD expedites public disclosure requests from ICE while using delay tactics like “grouping” to delay records requests from citizens and journalists. Under this policy, SPD takes multiple requests from the same requester or media outlet and “groups” them all into one single mega-request, responding to individual requests one at a time in full before moving on to the next one.

“While we are still clarifying the specifics of this situation, please prepare for potential media coverage that may highlight our actions without complete context,” Barnes wrote. “Our focus will be on ensuring transparency and working closely with the mayor’s office on a response, given the sensitivity surrounding immigration issues in our city.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.

LGBTQ+, Police, Uncategorized

SPD Chief Puts Cop Who Called 2020 Protesters “Cockroaches” In Charge of East Precinct
SPD’s East Precinct in 2020

By Erica C. Barnett

The Seattle Police Department’s East Precinct, located at 12th Ave. and East Pine St. in the heart of Capitol Hill, came under new leadership in September, when SPD Chief Shon Barnes quietly removed the precinct’s gay acting commander, Doug Raguso, and placed a newly promoted captain, Mike Tietjen, in charge.

If Tietjen’s name sounds familiar, that’s because he was at the center of two high-profile incidents during protests against police violence in 2020.  In the first, then-sergeant Tietjen was suspended without pay for shoving a man forcefully into a bus stop, causing him to hit his head. In the second, he was moved to a different precinct after driving an unmarked vehicle onto a sidewalk full of protesters, later comparing them to “cockroaches” because of the way they scattered in the path of his SUV.

In 2007, Tietjen and his partner were accused of choking a man in a wheelchair and planting drugs in his hoodie; although then-SPD chief Gil Kerlikowske exonerated both officers in a press release, they were subsequently reassigned to Harbor Patrol. Two years earlier, according to KUOW, Tietjen was accused of ” punching and choking a man” he was arresting “to the point of unconsciousness.”

In an internal email announcing eight promotions, including Tietjen, Barnes wrote that everyone he was promoting had shown “the ability to rise to challenges, embrace innovation, and guide others with clarity and purpose. … The leaders we celebrate today represent our commitment to building an organization that is resilient, forward-thinking, and deeply connected to the community we serve.”

Raguso, a 22-year SPD veteran, was a fixture at the East Precinct who previously served as SPD’s LGBTQ liaison. SPD declined to say why he did was not promoted to captain. A department spokesperson said, “We promote our captains based on input from Command leadership, their Civil Service test scores, and other feedback.”

In 2021, Tietjen was disciplined for a 2020 incident in which four officers, including him, pulled up on a trans woman who was walking along the sidewalk and allegedly harassed her by asking her if she “had a dick under” her skirt.

Tietjen has an adult child who belongs to the LGBTQ+ community, from whom he is estranged. PubliCola is not providing any further details about Tietjen’s child in order to protect their privacy.

Raguso is now overseeing operations at SPD’s Real Time Crime Center—a recently expanded downtown facility where officers and civilian SPD staff monitor live surveillance footage from around the city. PubliCola was unable to interview him.

The SPD spokesperson acknowledged that Tietjen “had been the subject of complaints five years ago,” but said he had completed “an opportunity for training and growth” and “has successfully delivered results to the community” since then. “In his current role, he is building positive relationships in the community, in line with Chief Barnes’ promise to police forward and continuously improve our organization,” the spokesperson said.

Andrew Ashiofu, a member of the city’s LGBTQ commission who spoke to PubliCola on his own behalf, said Tietjen’s appointment “sends a deeply troubling message” to people living in “one of Seattle’s most LGBTQIA+-dense neighborhoods. His presence in this role is not just inappropriate, it’s dangerous. It sets a precedent that undermines trust and signals to marginalized communities that their safety and dignity are negotiable.”

“As a Black gay man living within this precinct, I do not feel safe,” Ashiofu continued. “How can we trust the police to protect us when those in charge are the very people we need protection from?”

Joel Merkel, the co-chair of the Community Police Commission, said that “promoting someone who’s had these type of disciplinary actions” against them raised concerns about the new police chief’s  “knowledge and insight into SPD’s history history and dynamics … particularly as we’re trying to change the culture of SPD. With the consent decree going away, it sends a concerning message.” SPD had been under a federal consent decree since 2012, and was seeking to have it lifted when President Trump announced he was unilaterally dismissing all Justice Department consent decrees over local police departments, including Seattle’s.

City Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth, who represents Capitol Hill and the rest of District 3, did not respond to a request for comment.

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The complaints against Tietjen in 2020 were serious and highly publicized. All occurred on Capitol Hill within a short distance of the East Precinct headquarters.

In the first incident, for which he was suspended without pay, Tietjen violently shoved a man who had been trying to help another demonstrator who was blinded by pepper spray, pushing him and slamming his head into a bus stop.

Although Tietjen claimed he had simply tried to get the man to “spin around” and rejoin the crowd of people SPD was pushing out of the area,  video from his body-worn camera later revealed that he had “forcefully pushed” the man “down and towards the bus stop” as he was trying to assist a demonstrator who had taken shelter there, according to the Office of Police Accountability’s investigation into the July 25, 2020 incident.

“Moreover, but for the fact that the Complainant was wearing a helmet, he could have suffered very serious injuries based on the manner in which [Tietjen] pushed him, his momentum in falling to the ground, and his striking the bus stop with his head,” the report said.

In the second incident, on August 12, 2020, Tietjen was driving an unmarked SUV when he  accelerated suddenly and drove onto a crowded sidewalk at 11th and Pine, forcing people to scatter to avoid being hit. When someone confronted him, according to the OPA report, he compared the people he almost hit to scattering “cockroaches.” A widely posted video shows him saying he still works for SPD “because they pay me like 200 grand a year to babysit you people.” Tietjen was suspended without pay and received a “disciplinary transfer” to the North Precinct for that incident.

In the third incident, Tietjen was in an SUV with three other officers that pulled up to talk to a trans woman who was walking on the sidewalk during a protest. According to the OPA investigation, one of the officers took her picture with his phone and asked if she “had a dick under” her skirt. “She said that she told the officer to ‘come take a look’ and he replied that he would ‘need a microscope’ to do so,” the report says..

Later, the woman told OPA investigators, “the unmarked SUV again drove by her and an officer again yelled out to the Complainant to ‘show them what’s under my skirt.’ She started yelling at them, but they drove off while still saying things to her.” The OPA report says Tietjen acknowledged taking the woman’s picture and hearing someone in the car say something about a microscope, but denied most of the other details. The officers said they stopped the woman because they suspected her of “throwing rocks at” the East Precinct building.

Tietjen got a written reprimand for failing to document or report the interaction with the woman, and for failing to “counsel” another officer who shouted transphobic comments about why that was unacceptable behavior.

Five years later, Barnes promoted Tietjen to captain and put him in charge of public safety in city’s historic LGBTQ+ neighborhood.