SEATTLE – The Seattle police officer says she is stepping down, a move made public the same day the city council approved the department by reducing as many as 100 officers through dismissals and dismissals.
Carmen Best, the city’s first Black police officer, said in a letter to the department that her retirement will be effective Sept. 2. And the mayor has appointed Deputy Chief Adrian Diaz as the interim chief, KING-TV reported Monday. Councilors had approved the cuts Monday.
“I am confident 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. … I look forward to seeing how this department progresses through the process of reviewing public safety. I love the work that will be done by all of you. ”
In an email to Police Mayor Jenny Durkan, she 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 continue with the city council,” Durkan wrote.
Durkan and Best are planning a news conference Tuesday morning.
The mayor elected Best in July of 2018 to head the department. She had served as interim chief.
A military veteran, Best joined the department in 1992 and worked in a wide variety of roles, including patrol, media relations, drugs and operations, and deputy chief.
Cuts to the department were supported by protesters marching in the city following the assassination of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, but strongly opposed by Durkan and Best.
Measures that cut less than $ 4 million from the department’s $ 400 million annual budget this year would be unanimous from committee last week. On Monday, only councilor Kshama Sawant voted against the budget package, saying it does not do enough to defuse the police.
Seattle currently has about 1,400 police officers and the reductions fell far short of the 50% cut to the department that many Black Lives Matter protesters seek. Several councilors on Monday said the changes were a starting point in a lengthy process to reimagine policing and public safety.
The city council also cut Best’s roughly $ 285,000 annual salary and the salaries of other top police leaders, although the final cuts to Best’s salary were significantly more modest than those approved last week. The council plan also takes officers off a team that removes homeless camps.
“While we may not be able to do everything in this summer’s rebalancing package, we have paved the way for great work for us as a council and as a city,” said councilor Teresa Mosqueda.
Durkan and Best had urged the council to carry out their talks on police budgets, saying the issue could be taken seriously when the 2021 city budget is considered. They also said that dismissals would disproportionately target new officers, often hired from Black and Brown communities, and that would inadvertently lead to lawsuits.
Durkan has proposed cutting about $ 20 million from the police budget this year in large part due to reduced revenues amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Last month, the mayor outlined a plan to reduce the police budget by about $ 75 million next year by relocating parking lots, the 911 call center and other areas of the department.
“It is regrettable that the Council has refused to participate in a collaborative process to work with the Mayor, Chief Best, and members of the community to develop a budget and policy that responds to the needs of the community,” while holding accountable for – not just acknowledging – the important labor and legal implications involved in transforming the Seattle Police Department, ”Durkan said in a statement after the vote.
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