Former Seattle police Chief Shon Barnes has disputed allegations that his out-of-town travel interfered with the department's response to the Bite of Seattle shooting but acknowledged the department dropped the public-communications ball — a primary reason he was asked to resign.
Barnes, in a Monday interview, dismissed intense criticism that trips to Chicago to visit his family or travel to attend law enforcement-related conferences distracted from his overall job performance.
Barnes was in Texas at a conference of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives on July 26, when three people were killed and four others wounded when gunfire broke out at the popular Seattle food festival. A 15-year-old suspect was arrested, and police continue to search for at least one more.
He received a text within minutes, he said, and I immediately began doing exactly what I would have done if I was there. I called the mayor's office, my boss Alison Holcomb, I made her aware."
The Seattle Times reached out to Mayor Katie Wilson's office, but had not heard back as of Tuesday evening.
Barnes said he also spoke with the special agent in charge of the Seattle office of the FBI and Assistant Chief Tyrone Davis, who was in command in the absence of both deputy chiefs. Davis, he said, was not aware of the shooting and Barnes said he ordered him to the scene.
Barnes said there's a protocol checklist for mass shootings that he followed from Texas and spoke to his command staff via Zoom and briefed the mayor. He flew into Seattle the next morning.
Barnes, who was forced to resign just three days after the shooting, said one thing that would have been different had he been in Seattle is that he personally would have gone to the scene and would have ensured the media and public were briefed and informed. The five-hour delay in getting news out to the public was unacceptable.
"It was never my understanding that the media was not going to be briefed," Barnes said. "It was never my understanding that there was going to be any delay or that the media had not been briefed."
Wilson issued a statement that ended up containing inaccurate information on the number of suspects arrested. She also denied that a news conference was delayed while waiting for Gov. Bob Ferguson and U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal. Barnes said he had no knowledge of the mayor's statement or allegations about the delay but noted that public information officer Sgt. Brian Pritchard has said the mayor's statements "are inaccurate."
He said if he had been in Seattle for the shooting, he “would have informed the public sooner.”
Pritchard, Davis — who was in command that day — and others will appear before the City Council's Public Safety Committee on Sept. 22. Meantime, the department will conduct an after-action report and the office of inspector general is conducting an independent review.
Barnes, who was appointed by then-Mayor Bruce Harrell, said he believes part of the issue surrounding his resignation is that Wilson wanted to appoint her own police chief. It's common practice, but in Seattle, which hasn't had a two-term mayor in almost 20 years, it means a high turnover. Barnes noted that the department hasn't a chief last more than two years in nearly two decades.
Barnes said his relationship with Wilson had been perfunctory and that, when she first met him when she was mayor-elect, the discussion was more like an interview than a get-to-know you chat.
Later, he said, he and the mayor had "robust" conversations about the Seattle Police Department's real-time crime center, which uses strategically placed cameras and analysis to track crime and criminals. Barnes has been a strong supporter of the center and its capabilities. Wilson has turned off many of the cameras, expressing concerns over privacy.
Barnes said there was a lot of speculation after Wilson's election about whether he would keep his job. As a result, he did not take any action to move his family to Seattle. It turned out that his trips to Chicago to spend time with them became a friction point with the Wilson administration.
"From day one, there wasn't a day that did not go by where someone did not tell me when the day was going to come," he said.
He said he had conversations with former Mayor Harrell about travel and his ultimate plan to move to Seattle. Barnes in the meantime, moved into an apartment in Pioneer Square, where he continues to reside.
Interim Chief Andre Sayles, who was brought to Seattle by Barnes from Madison, Wis., lives in Issaquah.
Barnes said that he received a call on July 29 from the mayor's office asking that he show up at 6 that evening — "A time in which we had never met" — and he went to the Bite of Seattle victims memorial first. "I still did my job," Barnes said.
Wilson told Barnes that he could resign or that she'd fire him. Barnes received a settlement from the city for roughly $590,000. Barnes said the settlement agreement did not contain a "nondisparagement" clause, which would have prevented him from criticizing the mayor. He said he didn't need one.
"I don't disparage people," he said, adding that he thinks Wilson is doing a good job.
"I was surprised," he said, especially in the wake of a successful FIFA Men's World Cup tournament that saw no major incidents.
Several members of the City Council were sharply critical of Wilson's decision.
Barnes said his wife and three children had arrived in Seattle for a two-week stay the day he lost his job.
Barnes said the attention — including two mayoral news conferences — never should have been on him. Barnes said the mayor's decision to ask him to leave in the shadow of the Bite of Seattle killing could have waited.
"I felt the timing was not right for that," he said. "I thought people rallied together in times of uncertainty.
But he was expecting something. Barnes hired an attorney before he met with the mayor.
Barnes disputed that he traveled too much. Before his resignation, he said he had been to Chicago four times, one of which was an overnight stay.
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