Former Seattle police chief Adrian Diaz comes out as gay

SEATTLE — Amid allegation of gender and race discrimination, former Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz has come out as gay.

Diaz made the announcement in an exclusive interview on the Jason Rantz Show on AM 770 KTTH.

May 29 it was announced that Diaz was out as police chief and former King County Sheriff Sue Rahr would take over as interim chief.

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said talk among his executive staff about replacing Diaz began about a month before that, as allegations of sexual harassment and racial incidents continued to pile up.

Diaz began serving as interim chief in 2020 and was finally sworn-in Jan. 12, 2023.

In a statement today Interim Seattle Police Chief Sue Rahr said, “We are happy that former Chief Adrian Diaz is able to share his story and be open and confident with his true, authentic self.”

KIRO 7 received a statement from Mayor Bruce Harrell’s office Monday night about Diaz’s public announcement.

“Chief Diaz informed Mayor Harrell and staff of his administration several months ago about his sexual orientation. Mayor Harrell supports him now, as he did then, for sharing this about himself and being an authentic leader. How Chief Diaz’s sexual orientation will be treated during the litigation process will be left to the courts and we will not comment on pending litigation.”

©2024 Cox Media Group