SEATTLE — After serving about two years as the interim chief of the Seattle Police Department, Adrian Diaz was officially sworn into the permanent role on Thursday.
Diaz was selected to be the department’s permanent chief by Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell after “an extensive, national search,” according to Harrell. Seattle City Council members approved the appointment with an 8 to 1 vote.
“I know that you love your family, you love community, and you love this city,” Harrell said on Thursday. “And for that, I’m absolutely honored that you’ll be our chief of police.”
“This has been one of the most challenging times in our department’s history,” Diaz said. “We are going to get to the heart of public safety. We are going to get to the root of crime. And we will make the city safe. Because as your chief, I’m up for the challenge.”
Diaz joined SPD as a patrol officer in 1997. Since then, he’s was promoted to assistant police chief and deputy police chief. The latter came after then-chief Carmen Best suddenly retired.
“We have a lot of challenges in front of us. This is not a victory lap,” said Harrell. “How do we reestablish trust … in a city that has lost trust in what we do as public servants?”