Following Mayor Bruce Harrell’s May 29th announcement replacing Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz, interim Chief Sue Rahr has been busy.
Chief Rahr took over a department facing enormous challenges. A slew of lawsuits reveals deep divisions in the upper command of the Seattle Police Department. While the City negotiated a new contract with the Seattle Police Officers Guild to cover the three years that officers worked under an expired contract, the City must finalize a contract that will cover the next several years. Building stronger police accountability into that contract remains a stumbling block. The SPD still operates under a consent decree overseen by a federal judge.
Public safety is a serious concern of many Seattle residents, and Chief Rahr will have a hard time addressing it with low staffing numbers. In early 2020, the SPD had about 1,400 officers before a large exodus from the department. Despite increasingly aggressive recruitment efforts, SPD currently has about 950 officers.
In addition to running the SPD, Chief Rahr, along with former Seattle Chief Kathleen O’Toole, is leading the search to find a permanent chief. Despite all of the challenges facing SPD, Rahr is optimistic about the search, “If we can overcome the reputation of the political volatility and the acrimony between policing and the community, if we can show that stability, I really believe this will be a sought-after position.”
