Chief Shon Barnes, center, with recent new recruits (Image: SPD)

Mayor Bruce Harrell’s appointment to run the Seattle Police Department has been doing the job for weeks but still needs to be approved for the job. Tuesday morning, the Seattle City Council’s public safety committee will gather to finalize the process. While the formal appointment is mostly a rubber stamp, it does give the council members a very public opportunity for a conversation about policing and leadership with new SPD Chief Shon Barnes who says it his priority to re-grow the ranks of officers serving the city and re-establish trust with marginalized communities.

“I often use the analogy of building a bridge to describe trust-building. But what is often forgotten is that a bridge must be built from both sides. That doesn’t mean placing the
burden of reconciliation on communities,” Barnes said in one answer in response to written questions from the committee. “It means police must lead by acknowledging the past, being transparent in the present, and investing in long-term change. Communities are not responsible for repairing the harm done to them. That work begins with us.”

CHS reported here in February as the appointment process began and Barnes promised to pursue “continuous improvement” at the department including learnings from academic studies of SPD and recommendations for improving the department’s record around investigations. Barnes also said he would support growth of SPD’s Real Time Crime Center and “public space cameras” along with using more civilian staff to help make the city safer. CHS reported here on the Real Time Crime Center and camera pilot. Meanwhile, the mayor’s office says it is considering expanding the pilot to include Capitol Hill.

In his written answers for the public safety committee, Barnes doubled down on his commitment to camera technology, giving examples of recent arrests the Crime Center has helped facilitate and touting its value in a less expected area — helping SPD determine which crimes “did not occur as described by 911 callers, which meant that units could stand down and move on to the next call.”

Barnes also said he strongly supports integration of private cameras like the Ring system with the RTCC “to have better situational awareness citywide, which was previously authorized under the Surveillance Impact Report.”

Barnes would also like to see the city’s popular Find It Fix It app add features to allow users to report “general open air drug use and general disorder.”

“If that were to occur, I would also request that SPD be granted access to the data in that system for planning purposes,” Barnes said.

The interim chief said he shares concerns about data from these systems being accessed by ICE and the federal government.

“SPD and I share legitimate concerns about the misuse of surveillance data. Our ethos is
written on the wall of the RTCC: ‘Great power requires greater responsibility,'” Barnes writes. “As part of the Surveillance Ordinance process and in collaboration with the Executive and City Council, SPD has made every effort to mitigate the likelihood of inappropriate sharing of our data. While the question did not reference a specific article, circumstances in which data was inappropriately used for immigration purposes or reproductive/gender affirming care seem
to be primarily due to direct data sharing by a department with immigration officials, out-of state agencies, or data sharing with third party aggregators, neither of which occur in Seattle.”

Council members also asked the interim chief about his approach to crowd control and his department’s response to the recent protests including the arrests made in Cal Anderson.

Barnes said police departments should emphasize a “less is more” approach to protests and put more effort into communicating “with the community before, during and after protest events.”

“Departments should regularly educate the community about their strategy and tactics for supporting protests,” Barnes said, and “focus on proportional reactions to intercede against
instigators of violence and determining where action should be taken to decrease the risk of harm to individuals, against instigators of property damage.”

In his responses, Barnes did not directly address the Cal Anderson arrests but said he is looking forward to review of the actions. Barnes did say, however, that he believes SPD should be “content neutral” when it comes to protest responses.

“I do want to emphasize that – unlike those in non-enforcement positions who may speak freely as to their personal views on the content of expression – SPD, as the enforcement arm of the government – must remain content neutral in its actions, responding to behaviors rather than speech,” Barnes writes. “While others have commented on the complexity of permitting controversial speech in one of the City’s LGBTQIA+ neighborhoods, it is our obligation to preserve the first amendment free speech rights of all involved.”

UPDATE 4:15 PM: In an address posted to social media Tuesday afternoon, Barnes echoed his statements from the document and pledged “the Seattle Police Department’s commitment to our community will not change” when it comes to the federal immigration crackdown underway.

“As I watch the actions taken by federal law enforcement in California and along the West Coast, I am reminded of why I became a police officer. It is my job to support the rights of our community,” Barnes says in the address.

“Let me be clear. The Seattle Police Department does not engage in immigration enforcement activities. We do not inquire into or collect information about an individual’s immigration or citizenship status unless it is directly connected to a state or local criminal investigation.”

In the statement, Barnes calls immigration and citizenship “the sole responsibility of the federal government.”

“Here in Seattle, no one should be afraid of contacting local law enforcement to report a crime, ask for help, or cooperate with an investigation,” he says. “Our officers are here to serve everyone regardless of their immigration status.”

As for the demonstrations here and underway in Los Angeles, Barnes says SPD supports “peaceful” demonstration.

“The Seattle Police Department supports everyone’s right to peacefully protest. Our city is and should remain a model for the nation of what happens when people have the space and freedom to express themselves respectful,” Barnes says. “We encourage community representative to reach out and work with our Police Outreach and Engagement Team to ensure every voice can be heard.”

The Seattle Police Department’s commitment to our community will not change. pic.twitter.com/AHy9kRVrmw

— Seattle Police Department (@SeattlePD) June 10, 2025

The address comes as a Tuesday protest involving dozens of demonstrators blocked downtown Seattle’s Henry M. Jackson Federal Building and federal immigration court proceedings with piles of rental scooters and e-bikes.

Live from Seattle's Lime Bike barricades, as advocates try to trap ICE vehicles in the garage pic.twitter.com/QIERquYnKI

— Hannah Krieg (@hannahkrieg) June 11, 2025

Original report: In the massive document, Barnes also goes on to answer questions about communication, recruitment, officer morale, and the current debate about restoring programs to place police officers in Seattle schools.

In his response, Barnes voiced his strong support for school resource officers but said he looks forward to developing Seattle’s program with the community.

“Let me be unequivocal: I support the school resource officer program, and I have developed a vision for what this initiative could look like. However, as a servant leader, I recognize that my vision must not be the sole guiding force,” Barnes writes. “The program should reflect the collective vision of all stakeholders involved, including teachers, students, parents, administrators, and elected officials. Together, we can craft a program that serves as a national model for others to emulate.”

Barnes said his vision for the resource officers is focused on “emergency response, violence
prevention, and safety planning”, not cops “involved in routine disciplinary actions.”

CHS reported here on the plan for a proposed one-year school resource officer pilot at Garfield High School currently moving forward with the school board.

Mayor Bruce Harrell chose Barnes as an outsider to lead SPD — the first time the city has turned to someone from outside the department for years. Chief Kathleen O’Toole who stepped down in 2017 after leading SPD for four years after coming to the city from Boston, assisted in the selection of Barnes, the city said. The former Madison, Wisconsin chief now leads a force with just over 1,000 sworn officers that has barely reversed a long trend of hiring struggles.

Valued for his veteran police leadership and his experience working with civilian oversight, Barnes says “officer wellness” including the impacts “neurobiologically, psychologically, behaviorally, and organizationally of job-related stress” must be accounted for as the department attempts to grow its ranks.

Approval by the public safety committee will send the appointment on to the full council for final approval.

The full written responses by Chief Barnes are below.

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