Anonymous letter says police watchdogs ignored complaints against former police chief
A few months ago, Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz was demoted following numerous HR complaints – and legal filings – during his time at the helm of the SPD. Those complaints include claims of discriminatory behavior by Diaz toward women and people of color. There were also rumors of a relationship with an employee.
Diaz has denied those allegations, but in May, Mayor Bruce Harrell announced that Diaz would no longer lead the department and appointed former-King County Sheriff Sue Rahr to replace him as interim police chief.
But in a recent unsigned letter sent to the Seattle City Council, a whistleblower has alleged that the department’s issues could continue even after Diaz -- because the agency tasked with holding SPD accountable hasn’t been doing its job.
KUOW’s Ashley Hiruko has been reporting on all of these developments and joined Soundside to discuss a letter confirmed to be written by a whistleblower within the Office of Police Accountability.
Guests:
- Ashley Hiruko, KUOW investigative reporter
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Libby Denkmann
Host, Soundside
Libby Denkmann joined KUOW in December 2021 as the host of the midday show Soundside. She’s a native Pacific Northwesterner who grew up in Redmond, graduated from the University of Washington, and covered local news as a producer and reporter with KIRO Radio.
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Alec Cowan
Senior Podcast Producer
Alec Cowan is a senior podcast producer for KUOW, where he works on Booming and other podcast projects. He's worked on many station programs, including Soundside, The Record with Bill Radke, Primed, and SoundQs.
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Ashley Hiruko
Investigative Reporter
Ashley Hiruko reports on topics involving policing and the behind-the-scenes conduct of city leaders.
More stories from Ashley Hiruko »
