Former Seattle police chief's firing linked to love letter found in SUV

SEATTLE — It was not a smoking gun that brought down former Seattle police Chief Adrian Diaz but a steamy letter.

“You woke me up,” it read. “Like a prince in one of your Disney movies. I hope I always know your kiss. I hope I always feel your influence. I hope to always know you and me. I love you.”

Addressed to AZD, Diaz’s initials, and found in his department-issued Toyota Highlander by his security detail, the letter served as proof for Mayor Bruce Harrell that the affair Diaz had so strongly denied was real. It was evidence in Harrell’s eyes that Diaz had not only failed to disclose the relationship but lied about its existence while promoting his secret partner to be his chief of staff.

Taken together, Diaz had failed to uphold the standards expected of even entry-level cops, Harrell concluded, and warranted the former chief’s firing.

The letter is the cornerstone of a 40-page investigation into Diaz by the city’s Office of Inspector General, released Tuesday night, hours after Harrell’s decision was announced. The story it tells is of a chief who used his position of power to carve a path for his alleged romantic partner — former Fox 13 news anchor Jamie Tompkins — to the upper tiers of the Seattle Police Department, all while publicly denying the two were involved. It’s also a tale of deep paranoia, involving the FBI, suspicion of being followed and hiding out in the dog run of an apartment complex.

The details provided to investigators, mostly through witness accounts, are lurid and occasionally dramatic: Tompkins suspected she was being “surveilled” by SPD employees in her downtown Seattle apartment, spurring Diaz to conduct “countersurveillance” of his own.

Diaz continues to deny the relationship was ever romantic. He came out as gay in June and he said Tompkins was a support that he leaned on as he grappled with the decision. The letter, he told investigators, was either a joke or intended to frame him. The inquiry into him was biased, incomplete, retaliatory and discriminatory, he said this week, and only bolstered the arguments of a$10 million claim he filed against the city in October.

Rumors of an affair began in August 2022, before Tompkins was hired to join the department. Tompkins had done stories on Diaz in her role as a news anchor and the two had been spotted together frequently.

Though chatter about the alleged affair was widespread, investigators said they sought only to interview people with direct knowledge.

Two members of Diaz’s security details, whose names are redacted from the report, said they heard Diaz bragging extensively about his relationship with Tompkins — including specifics about their sexual activity and, at times, classifying their relationship as romantic. They said Diaz showed off a photo that appeared to be of a partially nude Tompkins.

One of the former members of Diaz’s security detail said Diaz had spent “substantial” time at Tompkins’ apartment in downtown Seattle. Diaz’s stories for why seemed to shift — that he was helping her move in and had a personal trainer in the building. At one point, Tompkins suspected she was being watched by other members of SPD and Diaz offered to perform countersurveillance — such as hiding out in the dog run of her apartment — to see if it was true. Because her apartment was near the West Precinct, Diaz said he saw a lot of SPD employees, but couldn’t say conclusively if she was being watched.

Diaz denied making any of the crass comments or ever acknowledging a romantic relationship. Though he reported as many as 20 personal interactions with Tompkins, Diaz said their relationship centered on Tompkins’ support of him as he wrestled with whether and how to come out as gay.

Even as rumors continued to swirl well into 2023, Diaz nevertheless decided to hire Tompkins to be his chief of staff. The hiring process caught the eye of several witnesses. One noted that chief of staff had not been a common position, raising the question of whether it had been created just for Tompkins. Further, some saw the backgrounding process of Tompkins as out of the ordinary.

Diaz insisted hiring Tompkins was grounded in his admiration of her work. Though the department has a communications team, he nevertheless saw her as someone who could tell his and the department’s story and even launch an “SPD TV,” which never materialized.

For his part, Diaz was forceful — and, in the view of some, paranoid — in his denials. In a meeting of command staff, he called the rumors “disgusting and unprofessional.” He accused those who spread it of creating a toxic and hostile environment for Tompkins.

“If you hear these rumors — shut them down,” he wrote in prepared statements for the meeting. “If you have been spreading them — knock it off.”

Diaz additionally suspected he was being tracked by a black Mercedes, even using an electronics detector to sweep his car for GPS plants. Once, he switched cars with a member of his security detail. He told command staff he’d reached out to the FBI and Homeland Security as a threat to anyone who might be following him. No one was ever confirmed to be tailing him.

Hanging over the entire saga is the question of Diaz’s sexuality. Diaz said he’d known “way before 2020” he was gay, but had stayed quiet.

Diaz had begun telling those around him he was gay before his public statements, the report concludes. Some believe he was saying so as a way to exonerate himself — that he could not have had the affair because he’s gay. In one instance Diaz relayed a conversation he’d had with the mayor about his sexuality to one witness, saying “after the conversation I just had with the Mayor, there’s no way he can get rid of me now.”

Lisa Judge, head of the inspector general’s office, said in the report that Diaz being gay was “not dispositive of the issue of a relationship.” Diaz had married a woman and had children.

Judge ultimately concluded Diaz was more likely than not to have had a romantic relationship.

Harrell’s decision to demote Diaz was based largely on the growing chorus of women who said they felt uncomfortable and unsupported within the department. Four women filed a $5 million lawsuit against the city, alleging sexual discrimination and harassment.

Though Harrell tried to keep his relationship with Diaz cordial — he lauded Diaz’s service in the news conference announcing his demotion — it quickly soured. In October, Diaz filed a $10 million claim against Harrell and Deputy Mayor Tim Burgess, accusing them of demoting him over his sexuality.

Harrell announced Tuesday he was firing Diaz.

Now campaigning for reelection, Harrell is on the verge of announcing his pick to replace Diaz. Sources involved in the search say the front-runner is Shon Barnes from Madison, Wisconsin.

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