Former Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz sues city over firing, claims he faced retaliation

Nearly a year to the day after he was demoted and replaced as Seattle’s chief of police, Adrian Diaz has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the city and Mayor Bruce Harrell.

In a lawsuit filed in the King County Superior Court on Wednesday, Diaz claims he was retaliated against and his career destroyed because he refused Harrell’s alleged command to perform “an unlawful act” and fire an officer before he’d received due process.

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A spokesperson for the mayor said in a statement regarding the lawsuit, "We don't typically comment on active litigation; however, in this case we will say: When all we had was rumor and innuendo regarding Adrian Diaz, we took him at his word. After we received the facts from an independent investigation, he was terminated for dishonesty. We are confident that the fact finding allowed by the litigation process will demonstrate the truth."

Unlike the $10 million tort claim Diaz filed last fall, the new lawsuit does not make any claims about discrimination based on Diaz’s sexual orientation. Diaz came out as gay in an interview with Seattle radio host Jason Rantz shortly after his termination and alleged he faced discrimination from Harrell and Deputy Mayor Tim Burgess after that revelation.

But according to the new lawsuit, it was Diaz’s alleged refusal to prematurely fire Daniel Auderer, an officer and police union vice president recorded on video laughing about the death of slain pedestrian Jaahnavi Kandula, who was struck by a police cruiser in 2023, which led to “a rushed and retaliatory investigation into fabricated rumors of an alleged romantic relationship between Chief Diaz and his female Chief of Staff that the City knew were false.”

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The lawsuit also claims that Deputy Mayor Tim Burgess opposed Diaz's initial decision to place Auderer on administrative leave because the city needed Auderer's participation in the ongoing contract negotiations with the Seattle Police Officers Guild.

"Chief Diaz was essentially stuck in the middle of Deputy Mayor Burgess’s administrative goals of successfully negotiating the SPOG contract and Mayor Harrell’s political goals of responding to community outcry for swift and firm justice," the lawsuit states. "Chief Diaz maintained that throughout the internal dispute within the Mayor’s Office that the SPD was required to afford any officer due process and needed to adhere to the applicable contracts and ordinances."

The investigation into Diaz's conduct, performed by an attorney hired by the Office of Inspector General, was released last December and concluded that “a romantic or intimate relationship likely took place” between Diaz and the woman he hired, Jamie Tompkins, who has since resigned and filed her own $3 million claim against the city over alleged sexual harassment while she worked at SPD. Both Diaz and Tompkins have denied any romantic relationship.

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The city’s independent investigation cited a handwritten card addressed to Diaz as primary evidence of their concealed relationship. A handwriting analyst said it was “highly probable” that Tompkins wrote the note. A second handwriting analysis obtained by Diaz disputes this.

In a statement provided by his attorney, Diaz said, “While city leaders unfairly accused me of dishonesty and unprofessional conduct, there is critical evidence disproving those allegations that the city intentionally overlooked, minimized, and ignored. "

Diaz's statement also references polygraph test results he said showed he'd been truthful with investigators.

In his Dec. 17, 2024 letter explaining his decision to fire Diaz, Mayor Harrell cited witness accounts of Diaz describing the relationship, as well as Diaz’ deviations from normal procedures in hiring Tompkins.

Harrell said based on the investigation findings, he concluded that Diaz violated city policies on dishonesty, professionalism, conflicts of interest, and improper personal relationships, adding that “If you lie, you cannot serve the community as a law enforcement officer.”

Former King County Sheriff Sue Rahr, who Harrell appointed as interim chief of police in Diaz' place, said she has nothing to add about the lawsuit. SPOG President Mike Solan also declined to comment.

Meanwhile earlier this month Harrell said he will forward his nomination for interim Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes to the city council for confirmation to serve as the city's permanent chief.