Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson took a swipe at the city’s outgoing police chief as she defended asking him to step down amid backlash over his handling of a mass shooting.
The Democratic leader insisted that it was the right decision for former chief Shon Barnes to leave his role as the head of the Seattle Police Department (SPD) earlier this week.
Barnes had come under fire for being away from the city when a deadly shooting broke out at a food festival on Sunday leaving three dead and four people injured.
He faced further scrutiny after he was filmed exploding at a reporter who challenged him over his absence and reports he is often away from Seattle because his family live in Chicago.
At a press conference on Friday, Wilson maintained that a number of factors had contributed to Barnes’s resignation.
‘I am making what I firmly believe is the right decision at the right time,’ Wilson said. ‘Part of this is a sense of urgency around upcoming events this summer.’
She also pushed back at some colleagues on the city council who criticized the decision to change leadership, adding: ‘As the Mayor, as the executive of this city I have a different window into our police department than they do.’
She later said she would look into releasing Barnes’s calendar amid criticism that the outgoing chief traveled too frequently and spent too much time visiting his wife and child in the Windy City.
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson doubled down on her decision to ask the city’s police chief to resign amid backlash over his response to a mass shooting
Seattle police chief Shon Barnes stepped down following a series of scandals connected to the food festival shooting which left three dead and four injured
‘Moving forward I would be looking for a leader who is really committed to the city, to being here and really wants to lead the department in a good direction and that means building relationships from top to bottom,’ Wilson added.
The Mayor also admitted miscommunications between the SPD and her office led to misinformation being given out following the shooting.
Wilson was criticized for delays after it took almost three hours for her office to release information.
When a statement was given, it included incorrect information. The first press conference was then delayed twice, leaving concerned citizens in limbo.
At a second press conference on Monday, Wilson appeared to lose her temper at a reporter questioning the delays, snapping back: ‘This speaks to the tension between providing information early and providing it accurately.’
On Friday she struck a more diplomatic tone, insisting that she wanted to ‘own’ her part in the communications breakdown.
‘I want to be clear that I think there were gaps in communication all around and I definitely want to own my part of that,’ Wilson said.
‘I think part of that is communications failures in SPD and part of that is communications failures between SPD and my office, so we’re taking steps now to review protocols, make sure they are being implemented to ensure there is clear, consistent communication with the public much earlier when an incident like that happens.’
Wilson said she would look into releasing Barnes’ calendar amid criticism that the outgoing chief traveled too frequently
Authorities believe the shooting was perpetrated by at least three young people at the food festival, with one of the deceased, a 19-year-old, believed to be one of the gunmen
Barnes is seen at a vigil held at the Seattle Center for the victims of the Bite of Seattle shooting on Sunday prior to stepping down
She also admitted that she should not have defended the failure to use the city’s alert system, AlertSeattle, during an initial press conference after the shooting.
‘I have since learned there was a miscommunication between departments that led to that tool not being used when it would actually have been a good tool,’ Wilson said.
The shooting claimed the lives of bystanders Carlos Israel Sanchez Villalba, 44, and Ashley Whitehead, 56.
One of the deceased, Junior Cee Niko Semo, 19, was alleged to have been one of the shooters.
Police also arrested a 15-year-old in connection with the shooting, with at least one other suspect being sought by investigators.
Barnes was also criticized for failing to describe the incident as gang violence, instead calling the alleged perpetrators ‘small groups.’
Interim Police Chief Andre Sayles also provided an update on the investigation saying that deliberately have not released a description of the additional suspect.
‘When you look at the gravity of that situation, there were so many people involved over at the Seattle Center, and our investigation team wants to make sure we don’t want to have any injustices by taking someone in custody who may not be the actual shooter or involved in that situation,’ he said.
