SPD Chief terminates two officers who were outside US Capitol during Jan. 6 riot

Interim Seattle Police Department Chief Adrian Diaz announced Friday that he has terminated two officers’ after they were found to have violated the law during the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

SCOWA to hear case over identities of SPD officers in DC on Jan. 6

In total, there were six SPD officers who were in Washington, D.C., for Donald Trump’s now-infamous rally at the White House in January 2021, but the officers claimed they were not part of the ensuing riots at the U.S. Capitol. A subsequent investigation from Seattle’s Office of Police Accountability (OPA) found that at least two of the officers broke the law while there.

Still images from Jan. 6 provided by the FBI appeared to indicate that they were both standing in a restricted area “directly next to the wall of the Capitol Building” while rioters were scaling walls and scaffoldings, and beginning to illegally breach the building. While neither officer attempted to enter the Capitol building themselves, OPA Director Andrew Myerberg’s ruling centered on their presence in an area prohibited to the public, and their lack of action while others were breaking the law.

Another three officers found to be in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 were cleared of any wrongdoing, while the investigation into a fourth officer was inconclusive.

The OPA previously recommended that Chief Diaz fire the two officers found to have broken the law, and he has now taken that action.

Read Chief Diaz’s full statement below:

Today, I issued my final discipline in the case of two officers found to have been in Washington, D.C., on January 6th. Based on the evidence presented to me and the statement of the officers themselves, I have terminated their employment with the Seattle Police Department, effective immediately.

In granting the police the power and responsibility to do their work, the community takes as collateral an expectation that law enforcement will at all times earn and abide by that trust.

As Chief, I have ensured full accountability for anyone found to have lied or other behavior that violates community trust or lessens our ability to work with our community.

This is what should be expected of policing, and it is what I demand as Chief. It is also what Seattle Police officers expect of their colleagues, since these two officers’ actions in D.C. that day were first brought to our attention by fellow officers.

It is based on those values that I reached my decision. The two officers were found to have crossed the outdoor barriers established by the Capitol Police and were directly next to the Capitol Building. Clear evidence places them directly next to the Capitol Building. It is beyond absurd to suggest that they did not know they were in an area where they should not be, amidst what was already a violent, criminal riot.

These two officers were present at an attack on the U.S. Capitol, which was also an attack on our profession and on every officer across the country. Make no mistake: as a result of the events on January 6th, five Capitol police officers have lost their lives. More than a hundred officers sustained serious injuries – some career-ending – through outright assault. Hundreds more, across all agencies called to respond, bear the physical and emotional scars of that day. The participation of these two officers in that crowd is a stain on our department, and on the men and women who work every day to protect our community, serve those in need, and do so with compassion and dignity.

On behalf of the Seattle Police Department, I send my apologies to the Capitol Police, Washington DC Metro Police, Virginia State Police and all the other agencies that put themselves on the line protecting the Capitol and who continue to bear the scars of that day.

The Disciplinary Action Reports for the two officers are available here and here.

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