KIRO finds Seattle Mayor’s Office misrepresented prosecutor support for gun violence plan

KIRO Newsradio uncovered what appears to be a misrepresentation by Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson’s administration of support from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (KCPAO) for her new gun violence reduction plan.

The findings were presented to both the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. KCPAO spokesperson Casey McNerthney said the office was not given a full copy of the plan before its rollout, and that Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion and her staff first learned about it by watching the announcement on television.

A source said the U.S. Attorney’s Office, another key stakeholder in the mayor’s gun violence reduction plan, was also surprised by Wilson’s announcement and had never seen the plan before it was shared with media and the public. DOJ Public Affairs Officer Emily Langlie confirmed the attorney’s office did not get a draft.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office did not get a draft of the plan in advance, nor were we asked to provide a quote,” Langlie stated. “We continue to work closely with SPD, the King County Sheriff’s Office, and the King County Prosecutor’s Office, as well as our federal partners, to reduce gun violence.”

The mayor’s office later told KIRO Newsradio KCPAO had provided quotes supporting the plan when KCPAO said they did not.

The discrepancy raises questions about whether the administration was being disingenuous about the prosecutor’s involvement and whether it overstated KCPAO’s involvement to give the proposal greater credibility.

Prosecutor agreed to endorse CARE, not Mayor Wilson’s broader plan

KIRO Newsradio found on Sept. 12 that the city’s Community Assisted Response and Engagement (CARE) Department, a city public safety unit that responds to non-violent behavioral health and crises, informed KCPAO that the mayor’s office was planning to announce CARE’s new role within the mayor’s administration. CARE would manage all future Community Violence Intervention contracts and gun violence reduction work.

According to McNerthney, CARE asked Manion if she would provide a quote endorsing CARE and their work. Manion agreed with the stipulation that her quote not be edited and be shared in full. McNerthney said CARE representatives agreed, and Manion shared the following.

Reducing gun violence is a team effort that requires the partnership of police, prosecutors, elected officials and community leaders,” Manion said. “King County prosecutors have worked hard to reduce gun violence by holding accountable those causing harm in our communities. We also recognize the value of effective interventions designed to get guns out of the hands of juveniles and others before they become victims or perpetrators of harm.

“I appreciate the City and CARE’s commitment and focus on this critical priority,” she continued. “Implementing effective interventions includes data-based decisions and effective monitoring and evaluation to make sure programs are getting results. There is encouraging data from similar programs in other cities showing reduced gun violence, and we need the program in Seattle to be equally effective.”

Prosecutor’s office says it first learned about the mayor’s plan from TV news

However, three days later, Manion and KCPAO were surprised to read Manion’s quote instead — on Wilson’s official blog — highlighted as an endorsement of the mayor’s all-up gun violence reduction plan. They were equally surprised to first learn about the mayor’s gun violence reduction plan while watching TV news that same day. McNerthney said KCPAO did anticipate Manion would be quoted in a story about CARE. He said they were never given a copy of the mayor’s plan before the media or when it was announced publicly.

“To my knowledge, KCPAO was not given a copy of the plan when reporters were given an embargoed copy of it, so KCPAO first learned the specifics from media reports,” McNerthney explained. “If it was clear that the release was to roll out a gun violence reduction plan, the KCPAO would have requested to see the specifics of the plan.”

While CARE’s role is one key piece of the mayor’s gun violence reduction plan, it’s not the only piece. Other steps announced by the mayor included increased “bicycle patrols for visibility and faster response time”, establishing “dedicated leadership to leverage and coordinate work across city departments and community organizations across the region”, investments “in youth after school programs and Teen Nights at community centers, while increasing free in-person and virtual mental health services for 13 to 24 years old to keep youth from reaching a crisis point”, and instituting “strategic collaborations and formal homicide reviews to identify where systems and services failed and correct them so similar homicides don’t occur again and create shared metrics to keep us focused on success.”

A spokesperson for CARE confirmed to KIRO Newsradio that CARE Chief Amy Barden asked Manion for the quote.

“I know she independently offered to the mayor’s office to reach out to Prosecutor Manion for the quote and shared that quote back with the mayor’s office for optional use,” explained Communications Officer Bobbie Nickel. “The mayor’s office did not ask for it.”

Barden, herself, also responded to KIRO Newsradio’s questions.

“I reached out to her directly and said, ‘Listen, I think this body of work is finally moving to CARE; can you provide a quote in support of that?'” she said. “And that’s what I was asking for … so, after that, I don’t know. The part that you said about the mayor’s blog using it, I don’t know, but it was supposed to be about this work moving to CARE.”

Mayor’s office claims prosecutor provided quote for gun violence plan; prosecutor says otherwise

The incident with KCPAO and the U.S. Attorney’s office raises serious questions about intent by Wilson’s office and whether or not they acted disingenuously to strategically leverage a quote and the credibility of Manion and KCPAO.

The issue also raises serious questions about the mayor’s office’s response to KIRO Newsradio.

When asked about the issue, a spokesperson for Wilson told KIRO Newsradio, “The mayor’s office collaborates with relevant levels of government on matters of policy, including legislation and directives, as they are advanced. Both the city attorney and the King County prosecuting attorney were engaged in these items and provided quotes for our media release related to the mayor’s gun violence reduction plan, linked here.”

While the mayor’s office claimed KCPAO provided a quote “related to the mayor’s gun violence reduction plan”, KCPAO maintains they did not — raising further questions about the truth. Follow-up questions to the mayor’s office offering them an opportunity to explain the apparent contradiction have, so far, gone unanswered.

Misrepresentation follows pattern of communication issues around gun violence

The incident follows a pattern of communication and credibility issues surrounding gun violence by Wilson and her office. A Seattle Police After-Action Review of the Bite of Seattle shooting released Tuesday in front of Seattle City Council’s Public Safety Committee described a night of confusion and information moving quickly back and forth between the Seattle Police Department (SPD) and the mayor’s office, and that the mayor’s office pulled SPD command staff away from their duties so they could be briefed.

“Senior and elected officials distracted sworn staff from completing timely public safety information and on-scene decision-making,” SPD said in its review. “SPD then recommended coordination of senior elected officials needs its own staffing lane, so it doesn’t pull commanders away from managing the physical scene.”

However, weeks before Tuesday’s committee meeting, Wilson failed to mention the review’s finding that elected officials distracted law enforcement.

“Our after-action review of the communications with the public and the media revealed real gaps,” Wilson said. “Information should and could have gone out much faster through social media, the emergency alert system, the SPD blotter and/or an offsite press conference. The public should have heard sooner about outstanding suspects and the status of the Seattle Center campus.”

Deputy mayor delayed Bite of Seattle press conference so mayor could take part, assistant chief says

At Tuesday’s Public Safety Committee meeting, Seattle City Councilmember Bob Kettle asked Assistant Police Chief Tyrone Davis, “So there wasn’t a briefing for me or a council president. It wasn’t for Governor Ferguson or Congresswoman Jayapal?”

“Yeah, and it didn’t help us at the scene,” Davis replied, before he told Kettle and the Public Safety Committee that Deputy Mayor Brian Surrat directed SPD to pause a press conference they scheduled for 7:30 p.m. the night of the shooting so the mayor could take part. “I mean, it just, like I said, it delayed the press conference longer.”

On Tuesday, Governor Bob Ferguson responded to SPD’s review, saying his team reviewed the findings — especially “distractions” from elected officials.

“It’s not clear which elected officials are being referred to,” he said. “But as we’ve made clear in the past, the only contact the governor and the governor’s office had with SPD on the day of the shooting was a 9 p.m. briefing via Teams that the governor was invited to attend. That meeting took place approximately three hours after the shooting and lasted about 20 minutes. The governor had no communication with anyone at SPD that evening other than that 20-minute briefing, until the press conference later that night.”

KIRO Newsradio also asked the city attorney’s office when they first learned about the mayor’s gun violence reduction plan announcement. The following quote from City Attorney Erika Evans appears in the mayor’s blog.

“The city attorney’s office will have a dedicated attorney focused on taking guns out of the hands of dangerous people through Extreme Risk Protection Orders,” Evans stated, according to the mayor’s office. “This is one piece in a much larger puzzle, from offering fulfilling youth engagement opportunities to seeking strong measures of accountability. We are thankful for the dedicated focus of everyone working toward building a brighter future free from gun violence.”

Prosecutor’s office says ‘no hard feelings,’ wants to work with mayor moving forward

A spokesperson for the city attorney’s office replied to questions with questions of his — to clarify, “… what context makes the inside baseball about a quote of interest for you?”

KCPAO told KIRO Newsradio that while they are not chalking up the issue with the mayor’s gun violence reduction plan to a simple communications mishap, they did tell KIRO Newsradio they want to be able to work with the mayor’s office moving forward.

“We get it – the mayor’s office has a lot on its plate, and the KCPAO has no hard feelings,” McNerthney said. “King County prosecutors want Seattle to thrive and the mayor’s office to be successful, and we will continue to work with each city leader to support victims and promote public safety.”

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