Seattle Police Chief Finalists are a Motley, All-Male Crew

The Seattle Police Chief Search Committee furnished eleven candidates. Two dropped out. Now the 26-member citizen panel has selected three finalists for Mayor McGinn to choose from: interim chief John Diaz, Sacramento chief Rick Braziel, and East Palo Alto chief Ron Davis.

Some of you may be questioning my handicapping skills, since I said the smart money was on Spokane's chief, Anne Kirkpatrick. I should have mentioned that "smart" is not usually the way to bet with a 26-member citizen panel. In my defense, I did have Diaz to show, and Braziel and Davis to place.

John Diaz

It looks like the panel has skewed the selection, with a "safe" local choice and two stem-the-murderous-tide candidates who bring "new thinking." Diaz may look good on paper, but he's been alleged to be part of a "good old boys in blue" network, and his promotion to interim chief seems to have been a last straw for Assistant Police Chief Linda Pierce, the SPD's highest-ranking woman officer, who left to go to work for the Colville Reservation. Pierce was a 28-year veteran. At the time, the Seattle Times reported that:

[B]efore leaving, she told people around her that she believed the department had mistreated female officers and failed to retain them in the higher ranks, according to three sources familiar with her decision.

The department now has no women in the assistant chief or captain ranks, although at least four women are serving as lieutenants.

The four women who made it to precinct captain in the last several years, says the Times, have all since left the police force. I can't be the only one who thinks the SPD has a little too much testosterone at the moment, can I? Tears and "That's not who I am," after stomping someone? What does that sound like?

Rick Braziel

Sacramento's Rick Braziel has only been chief for two years. Here is his assessment of Sacramento's safety record from February this year: "We are still the second most violent city in California. We're the fifth most crime-ridden capital city in the nation. And we're the third worst in property crime." I don't mean to run Braziela down, he's a respected cop, but it's not exactly an enduring record of success yet. The Sacramento Bee notes without comment his claim that his "crime reduction strategies" led to a drop in crime. If it's working, it sounds like Sacramento could use his talent more than Seattle. 

Ron Davis

More of a leap, as a finalist, is Ron Davis. While he's been chief of police in East Palo Alto for five years, his claim to fame is reducing the murder rate, and developing a "re-entry" program for parolees to cut down on recidivism. Seattle is far from being tagged a "murder capital," like East Palo Alto, and the police force for a population of 30,000 is significantly different in size from the SPD.

His command experience at a larger police force, in Oakland, topped at the level of captain. I don't see how his particular skill set fits for Seattle, so he must give a terrific interview.