Harger: Katie Wilson says she’s not DSA. Fine. The DSA platform says ‘defund the police,’ and SPD’s hiring bonus just got defunded

I’ve been doing this job long enough to know that when I hear a story that sounds like, “no way that actually happened,” that’s usually the case. Often, one of three things happens. A very green reporter got something mixed up, and it slipped through bad editorial safeguards. It’s some mis- or disinformation from someone with an agenda. Or it’s some dude online not understanding the nuance, and blasting bad information to social media.

So when my Spidey-senses started tingling last week, I figured it was just that — tomfoolery of the highest order. Maybe served with a side of shenanigans.

For context: The Seattle Police Department (SPD) is at least 300 officers short of full staffing. That’s an entire precinct’s worth of cops who don’t exist.

“No WAY,” I told myself. There’s no way SPD, short hundreds of officers, working through a rough stretch on morale, and still a little tender from the whole “defund” era, would cut its one big recruiting tool: the hiring bonuses.

Rookie police officers got a $7,500 bonus for signing up and working for SPD. Notice the past tense.

And veteran police officers from other departments who want to work for SPD? It’s called a “lateral hire” in the police biz. Those experienced cops would get up to $50,000 for making the switch to Seattle. Plus moving expenses.

So I didn’t believe it. With staffing so low, I couldn’t believe SPD would cut that bonus. They need more cops on the force.

Until KIRO Newsradio reporter James Lynch confirmed it.

SPD hiring bonuses ended Sept. 1

Yes, the hiring bonus is gone. Poof. Effective this week. Which makes the new recruiting pitch something like: “Come to Seattle, where we’re understaffed, where we get a new chief every other year, and do it out of the goodness of your heart. Think of it as a working vacation. Minus the vacation.”

I’ll take Interim Chief Andre Sayles at his word when he says this was his call. That it was an appropriate step to help manage the department’s budget. I get it. The city’s in a budget hole.

His spokesperson, Det. Shane Weatherford, said, “We have a responsibility to the people of Seattle to provide the best police service while also being fiscally responsible.”

And I’ll take Mayor Katie Wilson at her word, too.

“SPD officer hiring remains strong, while separations have been lower than projected in 2026,” the Office of the Mayor of Seattle stated. “In light of those trends, Interim Chief Sayles determined that ending hiring incentives effective Sept. 1 was an appropriate step to help manage the department’s budget.”

So the chief made the call. Fine. Although I’ll gently note that back in 2020, Wilson, speaking for the Transit Riders Union and the coalition behind that year’s “Solidarity Budget,” told PubliCola they wanted to “move towards a future entirely without SPD; we want to focus energy elsewhere.”

A future entirely without SPD. Focus energy elsewhere.

She says she no longer believes that. People change. Mayors especially.

Wilson calls herself a democratic socialist. The DSA platform says defund to zero

Some context, because it’s relevant when a police budget gets cut.

Wilson describes herself as a democratic socialist. She is not, as far as anyone has shown, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, and she hasn’t endorsed their platform.

But it’s worth knowing what the largest democratic socialist organization in the country calls for, in writing, on its own website. The DSA’s national platform commits to abolishing “the carceral forces of the state — from prisons and police themselves.” Its demands include defunding the police by “cutting budgets annually towards zero” and “freedom for all incarcerated people.” Not reform. Not retraining. Zero police and empty prisons. Their Abolition Working Group’s motto runs three words: “Defund. Abolish. Create.”

Wilson said that’s not her view, and the 2020 quote about a future without SPD was from five years ago.

So I’m choosing to believe everybody today. It’s easier on the blood pressure.

But I’ll bookmark this in my memory. A mayor who once wanted a future entirely without SPD, and who wears a political label whose flagship organization wants police budgets cut annually toward zero, just watched her city cut its police recruiting incentive to exactly that number. The way for Wilson to prove it’s a budget decision and only a budget decision is to fight, visibly, to fill those 300 empty positions some other way. That fight would be easy to see.

Now some numbers.

SPD has 927 officers to answer 911 calls

This is a department with fewer than a thousand cops available to send to 911 calls. FOX 13 said SPD told them 927.

And that count includes officers, sergeants, and detectives. When a sergeant is answering 911 calls, that’s like the restaurant manager bussing your table. Nice gesture. Also a sign the restaurant has a problem.

SPD remains hundreds of officers short of its own full staffing goals.

So the plan, as best I can tell, is to pause the incentive and hope experienced officers pick Seattle for the scenery.

Tacoma, Renton, and Bellevue didn’t get the memo

Oh. By the way. Other departments didn’t get the memo. Tacoma still offers a $50,000 hiring bonus, plus extra leave.

Renton offers $40,000.

And Bellevue PD spent Friday on social media reminding everyone that their $30,000 lateral bonus is alive and well.

Meantime in Seattle, no hiring bonus.

If you’re a lateral cop with a map and a calculator, Seattle just made your decision for you.

That’s one way to save on the budget … and to focus energy elsewhere.

Charlie Harger is the host of “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of his stories and commentaries here. Follow Charlie on X and email him here. 

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