Interim police chief Adrian Diaz is new, permanent top cop

Seattle has a new top cop.

Interim Police Chief Adrian Diaz has been chosen for the job, beating out 15 other candidates.

Mayor Bruce Harrell says he selected Diaz over the weekend following a monthslong, nationwide search.

Diaz is taking this job at what has been a difficult time for the Seattle Police Department. And the mayor apparently likes the job he has seen Diaz doing here for the last two years.

He has gotten to know Diaz, a man he says can make a joke about himself.

“It’s that kind of self-deprecating humor that I find very attractive in leaders,” said Harrell. “Because it’s not about how tall he stands, but about the boldness of the work he’ll do. And so I own this decision.”

With that, the Emerald City got its first permanent police chief in two years.

“I approach this work with optimism,” said Diaz, “mindful of the trust that was shattered by the events of 2020 following the murder of George Floyd.”

Indeed, Diaz took the interim job during Seattle’s often violent reaction to Floyd’s murder by Minneapolis police.

By then, SPD had abandoned the East Precinct and activists had set up shop in the so-called Capitol Hill Occupied Protest Zone. The pandemic had left neighborhoods coping with homelessness and a rising crime rate, as officers left the department in droves.

Diaz is now being praised for navigating those rough waters.

“He did not wait to be appointed to chief in order to make improvements to the department,” said Monisha Harrell, Senior Deputy Mayor.

Diaz says he is ready for the hard work that lies ahead, promising new initiatives to diversify a police force still under a federal consent decree to monitor use of force and biased policing.

“The consent decree gives us a foundation for what it expects of the police department,” said Diaz. “But for us it’s really about making sure we are exceeding those baselines and really trying to push this department into really continuous improvement and innovation.”

Seattle’s mayor says none of Diaz’s predecessors have been able to eradicate racism or completely change SPD’s culture.

“So, I’m not asking this chief to do that,” insists Harrell. “I’m asking this chief to be the strongest and most effective leader he can be to change the culture and optimize our performance.”

Diaz says the department is working to satisfy the consent decree, with the hope it will soon be lifted.

He says they have already scored a success, as 50% of their new hires are people of color.

Adrian Diaz is the seventh police chief Harrell has worked with, first on the city council and now as mayor.

Time will tell if Diaz will be the last.

As for the next steps, Diaz will need to be confirmed by the City Council.

The Downtown Seattle Association released the following statement:

“His long tenure with SPD positions Adrian Diaz well to assume the role of Seattle Police Chief. He is familiar with the challenges we’re facing downtown, including public safety, and has demonstrated leadership over the past two years in addressing these issues. Chief Diaz understands well the relationship between community safety and downtown’s ability to fully recovery. We look forward to our continued work with him during this critical time for downtown and the city.”

Rachel Smith, Seattle Metro Chamber President and CEO, member of Search Chief Committee, released the following statement:

“Mayor Bruce Harrell and the Chief Adrian Diaz know well, because we have been very vocal about what the business community wants to see in terms public safety: an all-of-the-above approach that includes the right amount of funding and the right number of officers, reforms in the department, and a diversification of response. We want a healthy relationship between community and those who are responsible for keeping us safe. We have confidence in this mayor, and in a chief who, by this action today is afforded validation and the authority to galvanize the full resources of the department to lead and deliver on our public safety priorities.”

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