Seattle Mayor-elect Katie Wilson to keep Shon Barnes as police chief

She said she’ll work with Barnes “to make SPD a place where professionalism, integrity, compassion, and community partnership are at the center of every action.”

Wilson released a lengthy statement entitled “A Vision for Public Safety in Seattle” on Thursday.

“I understand public safety as a shared responsibility, requiring police, fire, emergency management, alternative responders, service providers, community leaders, businesses, and residents to work together to get results,” she wrote. “And it is time to build a coordinated, modern system which reflects that shared responsibility and helps us address our most difficult challenges, including persistent neighborhood-based safety issues, gun violence, behavioral health, and substance abuse.

“That’s why I am retaining Seattle Police Department (SPD) Chief Shon Barnes, Seattle Fire Department (SFD) Chief Harold Scoggins, Office of Emergency Management (OEM) Director Curry Mayer, and CARE Chief Dr. Amy Barden,” she continued. “They are each committing to lead their departments in accordance with my vision of community safety. With active partnership and direction from the Mayor’s office, I believe these leaders can work together and form a unified team committed to strengthening coordination, reform, accountability, and results.”

Barnes ‘extremely honored’ to continue as chief

Barnes expressed gratitude for the continuation of his role as police chief in a statement.

“I’m extremely honored and grateful to continue in my role as Chief of Police for the Seattle Police Department and for the amazing community that I have come to care for here in Seattle,” he wrote. “Public safety is a shared value, and our priorities remain intact: crime prevention, community engagement, retention and recruitment of a qualified workforce, safety and wellness, and continuous improvement.”

Seattle Police Officers Guild President Mike Solan told “The Jason Rantz Show” on Seattle Red before Wilson’s announcement Wednesday that they’d be ready for anything.

“We have to work with whomever the mayor appoints as the chief of police,” Solan said. “That position, meaning the police chief’s, is an extremely political position, and you work for the mayor. That’s where the appointed process, I think, falls short.”

The Downtown Seattle Association praised Wilson’s move to keep Barnes.

“We commend Mayor-elect Wilson’s decision to retain Chief Shon Barnes, an early and important decision to further strengthen public safety in Seattle,” said Downtown Seattle Association President & CEO Jon Scholes in a statement Wednesday. “Under his leadership, violent crime in the downtown core has decreased, and visible, on-the-ground presence of Seattle Police officers has increased.”

Barnes took over as chief in January of 2025. The month before, Mayor Bruce Harrell fired Chief Adrian Diaz.

Frank Lenzi is the News Director for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here.