<p>Mayor Bruce Harrell fired Seattle’s former Chief of Police Adrian Diaz Tuesday after an internal investigation found that Diaz had hired and directly supervised a romantic partner and attempted to cover it up.</p>
<p>The termination came seven months after Diaz stepped down as police chief and moved into a “special projects” role. The <a href=”https://www.cascadepbs.org/politics/2024/05/seattle-police-department-chief-adrian-diaz-out-amid-controversy” target=”_blank”>demotion in May</a> came after a steady stream of controversy in Diaz’s department, including reports of harassment and retaliation. </p>
<p>Harrell sent <a data-entity-type=”file” data-entity-uuid=”978019e1-c4d3-4715-bd92-f393169ded9e” href=”https://www.cascadepbs.org/sites/default/files/uploads/2024/12/2023oig-0286-findings-letter-12-17-2024-final.pdf” target=”_blank”>a letter Tuesday morning</a> to the City Council, city attorney, Community Police Commission and others outlining the findings of an Office of the Inspector General investigation into Diaz. </p>
<p>According to the report, Diaz hired a woman he was romantically involved with to be SPD’s chief of staff, a position that did not exist in the department at the time and had not existed for “quite some time.” Rather than using the standard SPD background check in the hiring process, Diaz asked a member of his executive protection unit to get trained on background checks and conduct the woman’s personnel check. </p>
<p>Diaz repeatedly denied the existence of the relationship internally and to the press. </p>
<p>The report does not identify the employee, but other news outlets including KUOW and Publicola have reported that the employee was Jamie Tompkins, a former Fox 13 news anchor. In November, <a href=”https://publicola.com/2024/11/08/chief-of-staff-to-former-spd-chief-adrian-diaz-resigns-amid-allegations-she-lied-to-investigators/” target=”_blank”>Tompkins resigned from the department</a>. </p>
<p>The report concludes that Diaz violated SPD policies about dishonesty, professionalism, disclosure of conflicts of interest and improper personal relationships. </p>
<p>“Based on the findings from the Office of the Inspector General’s report, I made the decision to remove Adrian Diaz from the Seattle Police Department,” said Harrell in a written statement. “While they take time, this is why we do investigations that are robust and thorough and why we use facts to support decisions that are aligned with the values of our city. I want to thank the Office of Inspector General for this comprehensive investigation, and I look forward to announcing our next Police Chief in the near future.” </p>
<p>Harrell’s letter to the Council notes that in response to the investigation’s findings, Diaz asserted that his relationship with Tompkins was platonic, criticized the investigation’s objectivity and called into question the witnesses’ credibility, among other claims. </p>
<p>Interim Chief of Police Sue Rahr placed Diaz and Tompkins on <a href=”https://www.kuow.org/stories/seattle-police-communications-director-at-heart-of-alleged-affair-investigation-resigns” target=”_blank”>paid administrative leave</a> in late October. Two weeks prior, Diaz had filed <a href=”https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/former-seattle-police-chief-adrian-diaz-files-10m-claim-against-city/” target=”_blank”>a $10 million tort claim</a> against the city alleging wrongful discharge, discrimination and retaliation. </p>
<p>Rahr and former Seattle Chief of Police Kathleen O’Toole have been tasked with leading the search for Diaz’s permanent replacement. The Mayor’s office has not yet shared names for finalists for the job. </p>
<p lang=”EN-US”>At the press conference in May announcing Diaz’s resignation from the chief roll, Harrell praised him for his work and ethics. </p>
<p lang=”EN-US”>“I would be the first to say his integrity in my mind is beyond reproach,” said Harrell at the time. “[Diaz] is a friend and I want to thank him for his service.” </p>
<p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href=”https://www.cascadepbs.org/police” hreflang=”en”>police</a>, <a href=”https://www.cascadepbs.org/seattle-city-government” hreflang=”en”>Seattle City Government</a></p>
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