Seattle Police Chief, Carmen Best, announced her resignation from the force. She has been a member of the Seattle Police department for nearly 30 years, and was the first black woman to hold the position. Her resignation is effective 2 September.
“I want to thank Mayor Durkan for her continuous support through good times and tough times,” Best said in a letter sent to members of the department Monday night. “I am confident the department will make it through these difficult times. You truly are the best police department in the country, and please trust me when I say, the vast majority of people in Seattle support you and appreciate you.”
The Seattle city council had recently reduced her pay, and that of 13 other top officials in the PD. Additionally, they reduced the department’s budget by nearly $4 million. The cuts could reduce the police department by up to 100 officers through layoffs and attrition.
It also reduces the budget for travel, public affairs, training and recruitment and makes cuts to specialized units like SWAT, harbor patrol, homeland security, mounted patrol and officers in schools. The budget also removes officers from the city’s homeless outreach team.
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Is it any wonder that she resigned? The reduction in her pay was clearly retaliatory. Among the “leadership” in Seattle, she was the only one who wasn’t gaslighting the public or appeasing the mobs. Unlike the mayor and city council, she never threw her officers under the bus over the East precinct debacle. Instead she placed the blame squarely where it belonged.
Lest you think I have any sympathy for the people of Seattle, they voted for the dumpster fire that is the city leadership. They are about to reap what they have sown.