Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes fired by Mayor Katie Wilson

Shon Barnes was fired from his position as chief of the Seattle Police Department (SPD) by Mayor Katie Wilson, multiple sources confirmed with KIRO Newsradio.

Barnes was initially given the option to resign or be fired, according to sources, with the chief choosing not to resign.

Barnes, 51, was in attendance at a silent vigil for the victims of the Bite of Seattle shooting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday before leaving abruptly, according to sources, for a meeting with Wilson. He additionally canceled a planned interview with KOMO News 30 minutes before he was scheduled to answer questions about the fatal shooting and how often he leaves the city.

“We have nothing we can confirm at this point,” Patrick Michaud, the public information officer for the SPD, told KIRO Newsradio. “Please reach out to the mayor’s office to confirm for further information.”

KIRO Newsradio has reached out to the mayor’s office for confirmation.

According to The Seattle Medium, a coalition of at least nine Seattle Black community organizations is attempting to meet with Wilson to urge her to reconsider any decision to remove Barnes. The coalition is encouraging supporters to protest the firing at Seattle City Hall Thursday morning with a rally.

Barnes was officially sworn into office 12 months ago, replacing interim chief Sue Rahr, although he had held the role since January 2025.

Bite of Seattle shooting

When a gang-related mass shooting broke out during the final day of Bite of Seattle at the Seattle Center, killing three and injuring at least four others, including a 2-year-old, it was revealed Barnes was not in town to respond to the tragedy.

It took the police department five hours to hold a media briefing regarding the shooting, led by Tyrone Davis, the assistant chief for the SPD. It was then that the public learned the department had one suspect in custody, and that two guns were recovered at the scene. For the five hours prior, both the media and the public were only made aware that a shooting took place at Seattle Center from one SPD post on X.

Officers within the SPD claimed the delay was due to state dignitaries, including Governor Bob Ferguson and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, wanting to be present at the briefing. Wilson later claimed the delay was due to sorting through rumors to confirm the truth.

It wasn’t until approximately 17 hours after the shooting, during a press conference Monday, that it was reported and confirmed for the first time that one of the suspects died at the scene and a third remained missing and unidentified in addition to one being in custody.

City leaders have since held multiple press conferences to relay more details and updates of the investigation to the media, with one specific conference turning into “a scuffle.”

Barnes told the media he was out of town Sunday due to attending the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives Conference in Dallas. He then got into a confrontation with Connor Nash, a reporter for The South Seattle Emerald, after he asked the chief about reports that he is not in town often.

“I don’t have to tell you where I go,” Barnes said, as shown on video posted by KOMO News. “I have a medical procedure that I have to do on Friday.”

The reporter responded, and then Barnes replied, “No, you need to know this. I have been working as hard as I can for this city from the day I got here. Do you got that?”

“There are reports that you are not in town often,” the reporter said.

“Their reports are wrong,” Barnes responded. “Do you understand?”

Barnes was then pulled away to another room by an official who broke up the face-to-face confrontation, repeatedly telling Barnes, “Let’s go.”

A day later, Barnes strongly rejected suggestions that he frequently travels or is routinely absent from the city.

“I don’t travel as often as I would like to,” Barnes said at a Tuesday press conference. “I think any reports that I’m gone every weekend are grossly misstated.”

The Office of the SPD Chief published Barnes’ schedule for the year, including his absences. The schedule showed seven planned trips for various conferences across the country in addition to four trips to Chicago, where his family resides.

According to SPD Chief’s Office, the department pays for his travel related to work conferences, while Barnes personally pays for his family trips to Chicago.

Barnes’ tenure

Before the Bite of Seattle shooting, Seattle recorded 15 homicides in 2026, including its first homicide-free June since 1970. The City of Seattle continues to see a year-by-year decrease in homicides since 74 occurred in 2023.

After Barnes was chosen as chief by former mayor Bruce Harrell, Wilson kept him on as chief, stating she’ll work with Barnes “to make SPD a place where professionalism, integrity, compassion, and community partnership are at the center of every action.”

He was previously the chief of police in Madison, Wisconsin.

When Barnes was sworn in as chief, he announced a goal for himself: to have the SPD at full staff by sometime in 2027. Community policing, he said, is at the core of who he is as a leader in the law-enforcement community.

Barnes is the fourth chief of the Seattle Police Department since January 2018.

This is a developing story, check back for updates

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