Newly appointed Interim Police Chief Andre Sayles has wrapped up his first week leading the Seattle Police Department after being appointed to the position by Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson.
Sayles left a 20-year career with the Beloit Police Department in Wisconsin and came to the Seattle Police Department, in part thanks to former SPD Chief Shon Barnes, who resigned last month.
“Over the 14 months that I’ve been here, I’ve been out in the community, listening to the community, understanding whatever is going on in whatever precinct it is,” said Chief Sayles.
Chief Sayles says his top priority is to boost staffing among his department.
“We want our police department to look like the community that we serve, and that is that 30 by 30, bringing women into law enforcement, giving women that are already here positions that are in those supervisory ranks,” said Chief Sayles
He says he wants to continue bringing justice to those who suffered from tragedies.
“Making sure we are putting an investigative focus on it and we’re bringing these cases to KCPAO, solid cases,” said Chief Sayles.
Like his predecessor, former SPD Chief Barnes, Chief Sayles admitted that he has another home in Illinois.
“I frequently go back to visit my family probably every 8 weeks or so,” said Chief Sayles at his introductory press conference.
He tells KIRO 7 that among his three adult sons, two remain in Illinois, along with two family dogs.
“I didn’t want to uproot them from the things they’ve developed for themselves there,” said Chief Sayles.
He says his wife spends most of her time with him in the Seattle area and maintains that they consider the Puget Sound their home.
As he did in the Midwest, Chief Sayles says he wants to connect with kids and teens in Seattle.
“Providing an opportunity for people to work with police officers, not in our uniform but in plainclothes so they can know us on a first-name basis,” said Chief Sayles. “We’re going to be trying to come up with a workshop for community members, specifically in the South Park area, and we’re going to start that one off and hopefully move throughout the city as a whole.”
Though he’s been Interim Chief for only a week, Chief Sayles said he’s not opposed to the position becoming permanent for him.
“As things settle, as we start getting back to where we were, that is something I will look at,” said Chief Sayles.