On July 26, Seattle police officers standing approximately 100 feet from the Armory took an alleged Bite of Seattle shooter into custody in 20 to 30 seconds; yet the public waited five hours for the first official public safety briefing. That is not a communications hiccup; that is a leadership failure.
Seattle Police Department’s after-action report, released on Monday, now says it plainly: “Senior and Elected Officials distracted sworn staff from completing timely public safety information and on-scene decision making.”
The first public briefing followed two internal ones — one with commanders and then-Chief Shon Barnes, another with elected officials — rather than preceding them. The report calls it a five-hour public information gap; however, families, vendors, people locked in nearby buildings, and a region watching videos of chaos did not need another closed-door meeting. They needed to know whether the threat was over — plain and simple.
The SPD after action report lists Mayor Katie Wilson, Deputy Mayor Brian Surratt, Gov. Bob Ferguson, U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Councilmember Bob Kettle, and others who were on scene at various points throughout the evening. Fine. Dignitaries show up after a mass shooting. That is not the issue…