The city of Seattle has reorganized the way it will inform the public of public safety emergencies to avoid the five-hour communication breakdown following last month's deadly shooting at Seattle Center.
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson and Seattle police Chief Andre Sayles said the failure to inform the public in a timely manner was a result of unclear protocols between the mayor's office and the Police Department.
Now, with new practices in place and yet another big Seattle Center event on the horizon — this weekend's Bumbershoot music festival — Wilson said the city will be ready to keep the public updated in case of an emergency.
I believe that Seattle deserves clear, fast communication during emergencies. We fell short of that during the Bite of Seattle tragedy and we're fixing it," Wilson said, adding that she had no criticism of the officers' "fast, effective, professional" response to the shooting.
Three people were killed at the food festival, leading to chaos around Seattle Center and online, where misinformation brewed in the absence of news from the city.
Wilson said the chief will either update her directly, or her public safety director during emergencies. Before all major events in Seattle, like the food festival, her office and the Police Department will brief one another on who will be running communications on both sides.
The new rules also describe how and when to use social media to get information out. Currently, the Police Department relies on X, a platform used by just a sliver of the general population. After the shooting at Bite of Seattle, the department posted only once to X for hours.
The protocols also identify when to use the city’s official emergency alert system, AlertSeattle, an opt-in system that not every Seattleite has signed up for.
The new rules require the Police Department to hold a news briefing within an hour of a major incident, "when safe and feasible," Wilson said.
"These are things that did not happen" after the shooting, Wilson said. "Moving forward, we will make sure they do happen."
While Wilson previously put blame on the Police Department for the lack of communication, she said Tuesday "there's shared responsibility" for what went wrong.
Wilson cautioned patience as Seattle’s city inspector general, Lisa Judge, conducts a third-party review of “the lack of public information” after the shooting, which is expected to completed by the end of the year.
"I might have my idea where I think communication broke down," she said, before turning to Sayles. "From your perspective, and what you heard, you might have your idea. Everyone might have their idea. That's a really messy conversation."
Still, she said the police were to be the main source of updates in the future, and that the mayor's office will have two primary roles during emergencies: to "amplify" information the police put out, and to direct the public where they can get the most up-to-date information.
Sayles, who was named interim chief days after the shooting and Wilson's subsequent dismissal of then-Chief Shon Barnes, wouldn't ascribe blame, either.
"Obviously there was a communication breakdown somewhere," he said, noting that it was more important to "memorialize the processes that we're putting in place. Everyone's going to know the game plan."
He said that new Police Department rules say no more than three members of the chief's executive staff team can be off at a time.
Sayles said he promoted Jennifer Sullivan to executive director of communications, effective Wednesday, in part to better connect the Police Department to Wilson's office.
On top of all this, Wilson's decision to dismiss Barnes created the need to hire a replacement. Wilson said the search process to find the next chief is ongoing, and a few candidates have already submitted applications.
Sayles said he was still weighing whether to apply for the permanent position, a decision he said he would come to by the end of this week, though he said he would keep his choice private.
"I want to make sure the officers of this department get my full attention, not my attention because I'm trying to be chief of police," Sayles said.
"I wouldn't be here if I didn't like the job," he added.
Wilson said she didn't regret asking for Barnes' resignation, and noted that she had "reasons for doing that when I did."
"My highest responsibility is to public safety, to the safety of people in the city," she said. "In making that decision I had very much in mind what I believe was best for the Police Department, for public safety, and for the city as a whole.
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