Seattle police officer Carmen Best announced her resignation Tuesday, saying she did not leave because of cuts to her department, but because of the “lack of respect” for her fellow officers.
Best’s dismissal comes amid the city council’s decision to reduce the division by as many as 100 officers through dismissals and attrition.
In response to a reporter asking if her decision was motivated by Protestants who appeared at her home earlier this month, rather than the city council decision, Best said it “is not about the money, and it certainly is. not about the protesters. ”
Seattle Police Carmen Best speaks at a news conference, Tuesday, August 11, 2020, in Seattle.
(AP)
“I mean, be real, I have a much thicker skin than that,” Best said. “It’s really about the overwhelming lack of respect for the officers, the men and women who work so hard, day in and day out.”
She added: “The idea that we worked so incredibly hard to make sure our department was diverse, that (it) reflects the community we serve, to just turn it all around and hack it, without having a plan instead of moving forward is very overwhelming to me. ‘
Best, the city’s first Black police officer, said in a letter to the department that her retirement Sept. 2 will be effective.
“I am confident that the department will make it through these difficult times,” Best said in the letter. “You really are the best police department in the country, and please trust me as I said, the vast majority of the people in Seattle support and appreciate you.”
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In an email to police, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said she accepted Best’s decision “with a very heavy heart.”
“I deeply regret that they concluded that the best way to serve the city and help the department was a change in leadership, in the hope that the momentum would change to move forward with the City Council,” Durkan wrote.
Best was a military veteran, joined the department in 1992 and had worked in a wide variety of roles, including patrol, media relations, drugs, operations, and as a deputy chief. The mayor elected Best in July of 2018 to head the department. She had served as interim chief.
File: Police in riot gear storm a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck.
(AP)
Councilors had approved the cuts Monday. The vote came after a summer of nationwide protests against police following the death of George Floyd while he was a police officer in Minneapolis.
Measures that cut less than $ 4 million from the department’s $ 400 million annual budget this year would be unanimous from committee last week. The city council also cut Best’s roughly $ 285,000 annual salary and the salaries of other top political leaders.
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The cuts were widely supported by protesters marching in the city, but strongly opposed by Durkan and Best, who urged the council to carry out its talks on police budgets. They said each dismissal would be disproportionately more targeted at newer officers, often hired from Black and Brown communities, and that would independently lead to lawsuits.
“I really think we need to have a plan ahead,” Best said at Tuesday’s news conference. “It was very disappointing not to see that.”
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Durkan has appointed Deputy Chief Adrian Diaz as the interim chief. She told reporters that there are no immediate plans to find a permanent replacement for Best.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
