On Wednesday, May 29, Mayor of Seattle Bruce Harrell announced that he had appointed Sue Rahr as interim chief of the Seattle Police Department.
“Sue Rahr is uniquely qualified to step into the position,” the mayor said. “She will be an outstanding leader for our police department, focused on strengthening recruitment, advancing institutional culture change, and, most importantly, creating safety for all Seattle neighbors.”
Interim Chief Rahr began her law enforcement career as a deputy with the King County Sheriff’s Office in 1979. She was elected King County Sheriff in 2005, serving as sheriff for seven years before retiring in 2012. She was later named to President Barack Obama’s task force on 21st-century policing.
Former Chief Adrian Diaz has stepped down from his role as chief, deciding to focus primarily on “special assignments” for the mayor. However, his departure is suspected to come from a growing number of legal claims against him, his assistants and his department.
Chief Rahr thinks trust needs to be rebuilt internally based on these recent allegations.
“My goal is to settle that turmoil down, get people back focused on the work and get focused on: ‘What are we doing for the community?’ What I want to restore to the culture is that we’re fair; we hold people accountable, but we’re fair about it; we follow due process. And we give people the opportunity to explain,” Chief Rahr states.
A national search is ongoing to look for the next permanent chief. While Rahr has stated she will not be a permanent candidate for the role, she will help assist former Chief Kathleen O’Toole to help solidify a list of candidates who will be shared with a public committee appointed by the mayor before a final decision is reached.
“We know there’s been a lot of turmoil in Seattle,” Rahr stated. “And it’s going to take a courageous chief to step into a department that has had some issues.”
