Seattle police chief to retire after 33 years with department
Apr 8, 2013, 10:30 PM | Updated: Apr 9, 2013, 5:50 am
Seattle Police Chief John Diaz announced his retirement Monday. Asked to describe his career in one word, he called it "amazing." Assistant Chief Jim Pugel will serve as interim police chief while the city conducts a national search for a replacement.
John Diaz never aspired to be police chief.
He joined the Seattle Police Department at the age of 23 and told himself to “work hard … and just keep doing the job.”
His parents, who immigrated to the United States from Mexico, thought he would be a doctor or a lawyer.
“All the traditional things,” he said. “Not law enforcement.”
But for 36 years, Diaz dedicated himself to public service. He spent three years as a criminal investigator in the U.S. Army before he began his career with SPD in 1980.
Diaz, 55, announced Monday that he will retire at the end of May.
“It’s been a long career. It’s been a great career,” he told KIRO Radio. “It’s never a perfect time, but this is a good time for me.”
Asked to describe his career in one word, he called it “amazing.”
But there have been low points, too.
“It’s no secret to anyone that it’s been a challenging, turbulent time for our city and the police department,” Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn said at a press conference Monday.
His departure comes on the heels of a scathing report about the department’s response to the 2012 May Day riots and was made amid a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice over how his officers use force.
“We feel like there is a culture of cover-up, that there’s a culture of indifference, that there’s a culture of creating an illusion of change as opposed to actual change and we do feel like Chief Diaz and others have been a part of that,” said James Bible, head of the Seattle King County NAACP.
Seattle City Councilman Bruce Harrell, who is running for mayor, also weighed in on Diaz’s retirement Monday. He called him a quiet leader who, at times, “did not shine.”
“He, by his own admission, is not a gifted public speaker,” said Harrell, who wants a police chief that is charismatic, decisive and proactive. “I see us having an opportunity to sort of have a game changer and I think we can find a person like that.”
Assistant Chief Jim Pugel will serve as interim police chief while the city conducts a national search for a replacement. Pugel commands the Criminal Investigations Bureau and began his career with the Seattle Police Department in 1981 as a volunteer reserve officer.
