Curley defends Mayor Wilson’s response to fatal Bite of Seattle shooting: ‘A’ for a ‘novice,’ ‘C-‘ for a ‘major city’ leader

In the aftermath of a devastating fatal shooting during this year’s Bite of Seattle event, the city’s leadership has been questioned. It took nearly five hours for the Seattle Police Department (SPD) to hold its first briefing; it took 17 hours for the city to confirm there was a second shooter; and SPD Chief Shon Barnes got into a heated exchange with a reporter the following day after he was questioned about his absence (Barnes was out of town Sunday night when the shooting took place).

Despite high tensions in the wake of the shooting, KIRO host John Curley complimented Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson’s efforts.

“When she was on the show for the first time, I said, ‘You have never held a job like this. You’ve got 12,000 employees. You’ve got an $8 billion budget. You got a major city that you’re now responsible for,'” Curley said. “I think when you consider that she’s coming in with zero tested experience, I don’t think she’s doing that bad. I would say not bad for someone who’s a novice, standing up there at 11 o’clock at night asking questions about a shooting.”

Curley then provided a couple of letter grades for Wilson’s response and handling of the situation.

“For a novice, I give her an A. For a leader of a major city, C-,” Curley said. “Again, what are you supposed to say? You’re not the news story. You’re the mayor. What are you going to do? It’s not like you’re Red Ranger responding to a crime.”

KIRO Newsradio reporter weighs in on delay of information

But frustration in the city’s delayed response was felt Monday, a day after the shooting. For the initial five hours after gunfire first erupted Sunday evening, the Seattle Police Department (SPD) issued just one tweet, failing to include any information about the search for a suspect or if anyone was in custody.

“You were at the press conference, and you said that you were speaking for everybody there. Can you just express why everyone seems so frustrated?” Curley asked KIRO Newsradio reporter John Lynch. “Can you explain? Because I guess I’m missing it. Is it the fact that they have to wait around? They’re not getting all of it at these press conferences? There’s no information or very little information? Can you tell me why you seem a little PO’d?”

“I guess primarily it’s because of the second gunman who is deceased, and it was in the super form from SPD, so I just felt like [Wilson] could have released that information,” Lynch said. “She or SPD could have released that information at the morning presser rather than having another one. But I think more than that, it just seems like they treat the media at times as if we’re adversaries, and we’re not. A number of [journalists] came up to me afterward, which was unexpected, and thanked me for saying that.”

During Monday’s press conference, Lynch said, “I just want to say, and I think I can speak for all members of the media, that we’re partners. We’re partners with you guys. That’s what we do. We see ourselves as a public service, and we’re not always treated that way.”

Lynch described the response from city leadership towards the media as “adversarial.” Even before the second news conference was held Monday confirming the second shooter is dead, that information was already reported due to court documents released from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

“You’ve dealt with many of these administrations in Seattle,” Curley said. “What’s the difference with this one?”

“I don’t know. I think it seems to be more that way with this administration,” Lynch answered. “I know that the mayor is a novice, and so she’s not used to interacting with the media on a large scale that she does as mayor. But that’s where it comes to having people at your side that know what the media expects and how to interact with us.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to John Curley weekday afternoons from 3 – 7 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

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