Mayor Bruce Harrell has followed through on his loyalty to interim Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz, naming the force veteran who has led SPD since Carmen Best’s controversial 2020 exit to permanently lead the department.

Harrell made the appointment Tuesday in a press conference billed as a “major public safety announcement” for the city after a committee process that identified three candidates out of 15 applicants for the job. Harrell said he hoped Diaz would bring accountability to the department “like I’ve never seen it.”

Diaz wins out over challengers Seattle Assistant Chief of Police Eric Greening, and Tucson Assistant Chief of Police Kevin Hall.

Touting his “One Seattle” approach, Harrell acknowledged continued challenges to his efforts to grow the department in an era of increased distrust in traditional policing, saying Tuesday he expected Diaz to make “bold, unpopular choices.”

“There are many intangibles about Chief Diaz and then I would say his tenacity,” Harrell said, listing his appointee’s qualities.

Harrell also said Diaz matches his own work energy while “staying in his lane” and maintaining a “self deprecating” personality Harrell said he finds “attractive in leaders” in his administration.

CHS reported here on the search including Mayor Harrell’s championing of current Interim Chief Adrian Diaz to apply for the job. Diaz’s run as interim chief began in 2020 after Carmen Best’s decision to resign over what she said were frustrations with efforts to lay off police officers following criticism of her response to her handling of CHOP and the 2020 protests. Best said she could not be part of any layoffs. Then-Mayor Jenny Durkan piled on, levying heavy criticism on the city council.

In a report on 2021 community surveys regarding crime in the city, respondents in the East Precinct including Capitol Hill and the Central District continued to rate Seattle Police poorly and expressed some of the most cynical views in the city about the legitimacy and trustworthiness of the department.

In May, Harrell formed a 14-member search committee to identify candidates to lead the department and launched a new “community survey” to identify “what priorities and qualities matter most to residents.”

The city charter requires the mayor’s office to conduct a search and name three finalists. The final candidate must also be approved by the city council.

PLEASE HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE!
Subscribe to CHS to help us pay writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for as little as $5 a month.