The request comes a little more than a week after gunfire erupted near the Seattle Center Armory during the Bite of Seattle on July 26.
A coalition of Seattle's largest sports venues, festivals and tourist attractions is urging Mayor Katie Wilson to immediately reactivate 22 police surveillance cameras and consider expanding the system to Seattle Center and the waterfront following last month's deadly mass shooting.
The letter was signed by organizations including Seafair, Climate Pledge Arena, the Seattle Storm, the Seattle Convention Center, the Space Needle, Visit Seattle, Capitol Hill Block Party, the Seattle Sports Commission, the Washington State Ballpark Public Facilities District and Chihuly Garden and Glass.
The groups asked Wilson to turn the closed-circuit television cameras in the Stadium District and Pioneer Square back on while the city conducts an audit of the Seattle Police Department's Real-Time Crime Center. They also called for new investments in cameras at locations that regularly host large crowds, specifically naming Seattle Center.
"The events of this week demonstrate that public safety at large-scale events needs to remain a top priority for your administration," the organizations wrote. They said the cameras should be reactivated with the safeguards mandated when the program was approved.
The request comes a little more than a week after gunfire erupted near the Seattle Center Armory during the Bite of Seattle on July 26. Three people were killed, and four others were wounded, including a toddler. A 15-year-old suspect was arrested, while investigators continue searching for others believed to have been involved in the shooting and have asked witnesses to submit cellphone videos and photographs.
Seattle Center does not have police CCTV cameras connected to the Real-Time Crime Center. Beth Knox, president and CEO of the Seattle Sports Commission, said the organizations signing the letter collectively host millions of people at sporting and entertainment events each year.
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"Cameras are a critical piece" of the public safety tools available to event organizers and police," Knox said.
Knox said she was surprised to learn that Seattle Center did not have access to the city's camera network. She said the city should also consider cameras along the newly redeveloped waterfront, another location expected to host increasingly large public gatherings.
"We just want our city to be as safe as possible and to utilize all those tools that we have at our disposal," Knox said.
Seafair President and CEO Emily Cantrell said her organization signed the letter because she believes event operators have an obligation to take every reasonable step to protect visitors.
Cantrell survived the 2017 mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas. She said surveillance footage played an important role in reconstructing the attack, including identifying the gunman's movements and determining how weapons were brought into his hotel suite.
“I don’t want anyone to ever have to go through what I went through,” Cantrell said. “If something does happen, though, I want law enforcement to have every tool in their power.”
Cantrell said cameras can potentially deter violence, give first responders faster information and provide evidence after an attack. In the Seattle Center investigation, she noted that police have continued seeking information about at least one additional shooter.
The letter does not call for the city to abandon its privacy audit, Cantrell said.
"The letter that we signed onto acknowledges the audit that's happening, and we are not asking for that to stop," she said.
Wilson turned off the Stadium District cameras on July 7, immediately after Seattle's final World Cup events. She had agreed to activate them temporarily because of the tournament's global profile and what her office described as a heightened threat environment.
At the time, Wilson said the cameras would remain off until the city completed an audit and reviewed its recommendations. The city's existing 62 cameras in the downtown core, Chinatown-International District and North Aurora corridor remain operational.
In a statement responding to the new letter, Wilson said her administration appreciates the business community's engagement but believes any decision must be based on evidence about both the benefits and potential harms.
"Different people and different communities experience the cameras differently," Wilson said. "It's important to base a decision on more than feelings."
Wilson said the city is working with New York University's Policing Project on a data governance and privacy audit examining whether the program's policies adequately protect civil rights and liberties. A separate University of Pennsylvania evaluation, overseen by Seattle's Office of Inspector General, is studying crime patterns, investigative outcomes, police operations and community perceptions surrounding the Real-Time Crime Center. Wilson said the city expects both efforts to produce results in September.
The mayor also pointed to Interim Police Chief Andre Sayles’ announcement that SPD will maintain an increased and visible presence at major summer events.
Former Seattle Mayor and Deputy Mayor Tim Burgess, who helped develop the camera program under former Mayor Bruce Harrell, said Wilson was right to proceed cautiously but should reactivate the Stadium District cameras and complete previously approved installations.
“I think she’s being cautious and prudent, and there’s nothing wrong with that,” Burgess said. “But I hope she turns them back on.”
Burgess said the city deliberately limited cameras to locations with concentrations of gun violence, human trafficking and persistent felony crime. Seattle Center scored relatively low when SPD conducted its original location assessment in 2024, he said, which is why it was not selected for the initial deployment.
Burgess said the city could now conduct a new assessment, but cautioned that no one can say with certainty whether cameras would have prevented the Seattle Center shooting or led to faster arrests. “It’s really important to be limited in how we use these cameras,” he said, acknowledging that concerns about government surveillance and possible immigration enforcement are legitimate.
The current system generally deletes locally stored footage after five days unless it is associated with a criminal incident. Facial recognition is prohibited, and city and state rules restrict the use of footage for civil immigration enforcement, reproductive health care investigations and cases involving gender-affirming care.
Burgess cited SPD data showing that cases supported by Real-Time Crime Center analysts were nearly three times as likely to result in an arrest. He said the center assisted investigations involving 21 homicides, 558 aggravated assaults, 25 rapes and 249 robberies during its first 11 months.
Knox said the choice should not be framed as public safety versus privacy.
“The safeguards are in place for a reason,” she said. “Utilizing the cameras for the security purpose, and also keeping privacy a priority through the safeguards, that’s the combination that needs to go forward.”
Editor's Note: KOMO TV is the official broadcast partner of the Seattle Storm, and Chris Daniels is a Commissioner on the Seattle Sports Commission. A third party unaffiliated with either group notified KOMO of the letter's existence on Monday, and neither KOMO TV nor Chris was aware it had been drafted until Monday.
