‘Reports I’m gone every weekend are grossly misstated’: SPD chief defends how often he leaves Seattle

Following the Bite of Seattle shooting at the Seattle Center that killed three and injured at least four others, city leaders have held multiple press conferences to relay details of the investigation to the media, with one specific conference turning into “a scuffle.”

Jake Skorheim and Spike O’Neill, co-hosts of “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio, recapped an exchange between Seattle Police Department Chief Shon Barnes and a reporter who asked why the chief wasn’t in town during the shooting.

“There’s two stories happening simultaneously. One is the shooting, and then also the victims,” Jake said. “The response from local officials is a whole nother side of the story, and that’s what, unfortunately, these press conferences have devolved into. Chief Shon Barnes, who was out of town when it happened, as has been reported, is frequently out of town because he is not originally from Seattle. His family’s in Chicago. When you have a job like protecting a city, most people would assume that you would be here most of the time, aside from vacation, which happened.

“He was asked about that yesterday after the press conference, and it turned into kind of a scuffle,” Jake continued. “Barnes was literally walked out of the room by people who got in between him and this reporter for asking these questions.”

Tense exchange came as Barnes faced ‘tough’ questions about his time away

At the press conference, Barnes was speaking to Connor Nash, a reporter for The South Seattle Emerald, who had asked the chief about reports that he is not in town often.

“I have been working as hard as I can for this city from the day I got here. Do you got that?” Barnes said. “No, no, no, you listen to me. Their reports are wrong. You understand? I work …”

Another official broke up the face-to-face by repeatedly telling Barnes, “Let’s go.”

“Chief Barnes is getting very passionate, and it sounds kind of confrontational to me,” Jake said. “He was asked about [the encounter] today. When you’re responding to questions like this, you’re not winning the game of PR. Responding to questions about the way that you’re interacting with reporters, when people really should be caring about getting the gunman who’s still on the loose.”

When asked about the exchange, Barnes said he “wouldn’t describe it as heated,” but was soon questioned again about how often he is out of town.

“How long did you travel to Chicago? Your wife and kids still live there, I’d like to know how often on weekends you traveled there, and who’s paying for that,” a reporter at the conference asked.

“Certainly I don’t travel as often as I would like to,” Barnes responded. “I think any reports that I’m gone every weekend are grossly misstated. I don’t have that kind of money. I’m here in Seattle. Don’t love the rent that I’m paying, but affordability is something that we’re working on. Isn’t that right, mayor?”

Hosts push back on how Barnes described the encounter

Jake and Spike agreed that it was a “heated” exchange between Barnes and Nash.

“The job is here,” Spike said. “He’s the chief of police for the city of Seattle. There’s a reasonable expectation for the city. How often do you leave town?”

“That’s been asked, and they’re being very specific about not saying that,” Jake responded.

“He wouldn’t describe it as heated, but your staff felt the need to step in between you and that reporter,” Spike said.

“Felt pretty heated to me,” Jake responded.

Spike thinks the real issue is the chief’s accountability to the city

Spike noted that Barnes wasn’t being questioned about his work ethic, but rather about how often he spends time away from Seattle.

“I don’t know how you describe it any other way,” Spike said. “Passion’s great. I respect that you love your city, you care about it, you’re dedicated to the job, you work hard. We’re not questioning your ethics. We’re not questioning your work or your integrity. We’re questioning the judgment of a police chief feeling he can be out of town x number of days a month and still be accountable to the city that’s hired him to do this job.

“You’re not a bank manager. You’re accountable to a city that’s counting on you to lead law enforcement and do this job,” Spike added. “The chief didn’t direct his department to inform the community in a timely manner. I don’t care where you’re sitting in the country.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3