Former Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes says he’s never been told why Mayor Katie Wilson asked him to resign.
Former Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes says he’s never been told why Mayor Katie Wilson asked him to resign and did not make the order to delay information from the public during the Bite of Seattle shooting.
Barnes also says he followed long-standing protocol in the response to the deadly mass shooting that remains unsolved.
He made the comments during a more than half-hour, exclusive interview with KOMO News.
“I think operationally, City of Seattle did an excellent job,” said Barnes, in his first comments after being asked to resign by Wilson on July 30, just four days after the shooting at the festival that left three people dead and four others wounded, including a toddler. However, he offered, “Obviously, we can all agree that communication is one area that can be improved in any organization, and police departments are no exception to that.”
The shooting touched off a wild week at Seattle City Hall, including accusations about the city’s emergency response and whether the mayor consulted with members of the Seattle City Council before making a defining decision. Former Seattle Police Chief, and King County Sheriff Sue Rahr also weighed in, suggesting that the five-hour wait for information during an emergency was a problem.
Barnes gave his side of the story during the interview.
“(Sue Rahr) is right," said Barnes bluntly. "They should not have to be, to not have to wait that long, and that certainly was a failure of the entire incident, if you will."
But did he ask for a delay, given he was at a conference in Dallas during the shooting?
“I did not,” said Barnes. “I do not know who made that call.”
Seattle Police Detective Brian Pritchard was assigned to act as the media liaison on that horrible Sunday night and told reporters on scene that the flow of information was being held up as the department waited for “dignitaries."
He would later email his superiors asking for time off, suggesting that the narrative being painted by the city about the timeline was “not accurate”.
“I think that question will be answered by the inspector general's report,” said Barnes. “I was not there on the scene, but I can tell you this: if I was here in Seattle, we would have informed the public continuously, more than one particular interview.
As far as Pritchard’s email, Barnes said, “I've seen (it). It wasn't addressed to me. I do not believe that he was intending that email for me or my office. But I think that you know he is one of our more seasoned public information officers. You've seen him out doing his job. He knows my expectation.”
He continued.
“Leadership is about acknowledging mistakes. It isn't about trying to make it seem as if you are unable to make mistakes because you learn from that and you grow,” said Barnes.
“I think in what is commonly referred to as short-term politics. We make mistakes. We own up to those mistakes. We figure out how to move forward. We even apologize to the community or to our partners in the media if we have to, but what we can't do, what we can't do is mislead people.”
Barnes also says that although he was in Dallas, he followed the exact national standard and checklist for an active shooter incident management.
“What I did virtually, if you will, is what I would have done if I was here on the ground here in Seattle,” he said.
He also defended his absence, and others in SPD upper management, even during one of the known busiest weekends in Seattle. Barnes says Wilson didn’t need to sign off on his absences for vacation or conferences, but “I always let the mayor know when I'm going to be out of town. I always let my boss know when I'm out of town and what the line of succession is. And as soon as it's over, I come back. And again, when this incident happened, I got on the plane, came directly back, and assumed my role. The police chief's job does not stop because you're not in the city of Seattle.”
“She doesn't really approve my time. She can always deny it. But usually, you send an email, you tell them where you're going to go, and you tell them what's going to happen. Hey, I'm going to this thing. This is who's going to be in charge. I'm always available by phone. I'm always available by Teams,” he added.
So, what led to his forced resignation, and why did he agree to it? He will be paid roughly two years of salary to leave the position. Barnes was hired by the previous mayor, Bruce Harrell, in December of 2024.
According to Barnes, he still doesn’t know why Wilson asked him to step aside.
“I will let her answer that question. But what I can tell you is, I was not provided any explanation other than she wanted my resignation, which leads me to believe that most mayors, hey, they want to pick their own police chief. When we first met, I knew that was the case, but she said on three separate occasions that she thought, or that she said that she was going to keep me. I assumed that we were going to move forward,” he explained.
Asked again if he’s been given an explanation, Barnes said, “We did not have that conversation.”
“No one would want to resign after working here. This is a fulfilling job,” said Barnes.
Wilson had previously said that she had a window into the police department that others did not. Barnes was asked about that window.
“I think that's a question for her. But what I can tell you about my behavior is that I met with the mayor every other week. We usually met for around 20 to 30 minutes,” he said. “I was working really hard to establish a relationship, to establish trust, so that when people opened their window shades and wanted to give you a look, you said, this is what I've heard from my chief because I was her chief, as opposed to what someone else is telling you, but this is the truth about the department. They are a hardworking group of officers and professional staff.”
He adds that he was never told his performance was an issue either.
“No, no, never. We never had an issue. We never had a conversation that I would describe as adversarial. In my judgment, the mayor is very respectful. She's very thoughtful. She listens to me,” he said.
But the deadly incident and the fact that a month has passed without the arrest of the murder suspect continue to cloud the end of his term as chief. Could the release of information after the shooting or a suspect description have made a difference?
“I don't disagree that we should have given more information to the public. But I was asked to leave in the middle of a murder investigation, so I do not have the answer to your question,” said Barnes. “I don't know if the detectives have identified someone. I don't know if they're waiting on latent print information. I don't know if they're waiting on DNA. I don't know if there has been a break in the case.”
He says he’s spoken with interim Seattle Police Chief Andre Sayles, whom he brought to the department, and congratulated on getting the position.
As far as what he does next, Barnes said, “I hope (the Seattle Police Department) has some say in the type of police chief they want. I hope they get a voice in that. But ultimately, it will be the mayor's decision. What's next for me is that I think that you know my parents raised two police officers and a daycare provider. Whatever I do next, it will be around serving others because I want to make my parents proud.”
