Former Seattle police Chief Adrian Diaz, who had been demoted, is fired

David Kroman, The Seattle Times on Dec 17, 2024

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SEATTLE — Former Seattle police Chief Adrian Diaz — who was demoted from his leadership position last May — has been formally fired by Mayor Bruce Harrell, adding another chapter to what has been a protracted and uncomfortable breakup between the former brass of the Police Department and the top floor of City Hall.

In a letter Tuesday, addressed to members of the city’s legislative, law enforcement and accountability arms, Harrell said Diaz had lied about an affair he had with a subordinate, Jamie Tompkins, even as he promoted her within the department. Diaz denies there was a romantic relationship, but evidence turned up through an investigation conducted by the city’s Office of Inspector General shows otherwise, Harrell said.

“While honesty and integrity are fundamentally important characteristics for all City employees, it is even more critical that SPD officers are truthful,” Harrell wrote. “Stated more simply, if you lie, you cannot serve the community as a law enforcement officer.”

Diaz’s firing is the culmination of months of conflict between the former chief and the mayor’s office, at a time when the Seattle Police Department struggles with low staffing, internal power struggles and a lack of permanent leadership at the top.

Harrell, who appointed Diaz to be police chief, asked him to step down from the job in May as accusations of sexism within his ranks grew loud enough to be a distraction from the mayor’s agenda. The allegations were both specifically targeted at Diaz’s leadership and toward the department more broadly.

A February report, tasked with evaluating the department’s progress toward growing the ranks of women in the force, found women to be widely unhappy as they struggled to find opportunities for advancement and felt unsupported by leadership and their colleagues.

Additionally, four women who worked for the department filed a $5 million tort claim in April, alleging sexist discrimination and harassment by Diaz and those around him.

Diaz strongly denied the accusations against him, casting them as personal vendettas launched within a larger power struggle inside the department.

Nevertheless, members of the Seattle City Council expressed concern about the environment for women within the department and calls for Diaz’s firing grew louder.

Harrell approached the allegations conservatively, eventually opting against firing Diaz and instead giving him a special assignment as the city investigated them. In his May news conference announcing the decision, Harrell praised Diaz, even as he demoted him. He also announced former King County Sheriff Sue Rahr to be the interim chief.

The nature of Diaz’s assignment never became clear, however, as he continued to collect a healthy paycheck.

The détente between the two men was short lived. In June, Diaz went to conservative talk show host Jason Rantz and came out as gay, implying his demotion was related to his sexuality.

In October, both Diaz and Tompkins were placed on paid leave. Though the reason was not made clear, rumors of an affair between the two had circulated for months within the department.

That same month, Diaz filed a $10 million tort claim against the city, Mayor Bruce Harrell and Deputy Mayor Tim Burgess, accusing them of discrimination because of his decision to come out as gay.

Diaz’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

The inspector general’s investigation found what it believed to be ample evidence of an affair between Diaz and Tompkins, including a romantic letter and witness accounts. The relationship, as well as Diaz’s subsequent public denials of its existence, violated several SPD policies related to honesty, professionalism, conflict of interest and personal relationships, the investigation found.

“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,” Harrell said in a statement.

Rahr remains the head of the police department, though Harrell is expected to formally announce his pick for a permanent replacement in the coming days.

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