Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson disputes SPD account of delayed Bite of Seattle shooting briefing

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson is disputing a Seattle police account that her deputy mayor instructed police to delay a public briefing following the deadly Bite of Seattle shooting, setting up a direct conflict between the mayor and a top police commander over what happened behind the scenes that night.

The dispute centers on Assistant Chief Tyrone Davis’ testimony to the Seattle City Council last month. Davis said police were prepared to brief reporters at about 7:30 p.m., roughly 90 minutes after the July 26 shooting, but Deputy Mayor Brian Surratt told him to wait for Wilson. Davis said he proposed other options, including briefing the public immediately and holding another news conference when the mayor arrived, but was again told to wait.

“We were ready to go. I was ready to walk down there and handle it,” Davis told Seattle City Council’s Public Safety Committee Sep. 22. “I did talk to the deputy mayor, just kind of let them know as a courtesy we’re going to go down and conduct the interview, and then I was told we needed to wait for the mayor.”

“So, I suggested a couple of alternatives,” Davis continued. “The first was that we go ahead and do the presser now, and then you know Chief Barnes will be back at eight in the morning, and we will conduct the press conference as we now classify, and as where we’d have everybody there in the morning, and I was still told that you know I was still asked to wait, and then I offered a second alternative, which is that we do the presser now, and then maybe do another one when the mayor gets here and any other officials get here before the 10 o’clock news, and I was also asked to wait.”

Wilson now says Surratt did not tell police to delay the briefing, according to comments to FOX 13 Seattle. She pointed to the ongoing investigation by the Seattle Office of Inspector General, which is reviewing the timeline of the city’s response and will examine records, communications, and the recollections of people involved.

“My deputy mayor did not do that, and this is why we have asked the Office of the Inspector General to do a full look at communications that night, so that we’re not going by people’s memories,” Wilson said.

A spokesperson for the mayor told KIRO Newsradio, “At no point did she accuse anyone of lying.”

When asked how they would characterize what the mayor told Q-13, the spokesperson replied, “The truth.”

The conflicting accounts leave a central question unresolved: Who is telling the truth about why the public waited nearly five hours for a police briefing after the shooting?

Police say they were ready to brief the public

The shooting erupted shortly after 6 p.m. at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle festival. Three people were killed, and four others were wounded, including a 2-year-old boy. Police took a 15-year-old suspect into custody shortly after the shooting, while investigators continued searching for other potential suspects.

Davis, who was serving as acting police chief at the scene, told council members that he was ready to brief reporters at 7:30 p.m.

Davis said he contacted Surratt as a courtesy to tell him police were preparing to speak publicly.

“I was told we needed to wait for the mayor,” Davis said.

Davis ultimately did not brief reporters until about 11 p.m.

He told council members the information he provided then would have been the same information he was prepared to provide at 7:30 p.m.

The Seattle Police Department’s (SPD) after-action review also identified interference and confusion involving senior and elected officials as part of the communication problems that night.

Mayor’s actions

The mayor’s office has previously acknowledged communication problems surrounding the shooting and has taken steps intended to improve how the city releases information during major emergencies.

In August, Wilson asked the Office of Inspector General to conduct an independent review of the city’s public-information response. The review is examining the timeline of communications, the causes of delays, and potential improvements to emergency communication protocols. The city said it will make the final report public.

The mayor and Interim Police Chief Andre Sayles also released city and police text messages in September, saying the goal was greater transparency and clearer communication protocols.

But those records did not resolve every question about the delay, and Davis’ subsequent testimony provided a more direct account of his interaction with Surratt.

Now, Wilson is disputing that account.

That means the Inspector General’s investigation could become critical in determining what actually happened – particularly because investigators are expected to compare people’s memories with contemporaneous text messages and other communications.

Questions over communication during a deadly shooting

The timing matters because the public was waiting for information about an active, deadly shooting at one of Seattle’s largest summer events.

Police said officers responded quickly and took a suspect into custody. But official public information was not delivered in a full news conference until nearly five hours after the shooting.

Separately, recently released text messages from Gov. Bob Ferguson’s office showed U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal expressing doubts about whether Wilson knew how to handle the crisis. Jayapal questioned whether she and Ferguson should appear with Wilson at a news conference, according to the released messages.

Follow Luke Duecy on X. Read more of his stories here. Submit news tips here.