Seattle mayor may oust police chief after criticism of response to festival shooting

SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson may oust the city’s police chief following public criticism over the response to a fatal shootout at a crowded food festival under the Space Needle.

Wilson asked Chief Shon Barnes to resign but he declined, said Sheley Secrest, president of the Washington state NAACP. Secrest was not present for the conversation but learned of it Wednesday from Barnes’ chief of staff, she said.

Wilson’s office has not responded to requests for comment.

Barnes told The Seattle Times on Thursday that whether he remains chief is “up to the mayor.” He said he was off for the day and spending time with family. A police department spokesperson told The Associated Press he did not have any information to share about the situation.

Barnes was out of town at a law enforcement conference when gunfire erupted last weekend at the Bite of Seattle, an annual three-day festival that draws hundreds of food and retail vendors and performers. Three people, including one suspect, were killed, and four people were wounded. One of the injured was a 2-year-old boy.

Dozens of officers were at the event, and at least one saw a 15-year-old suspect firing into a crowd and quickly persuaded him to surrender, according to court documents. Police are still searching for at least one other person.

Both the Seattle Police Department and Wilson have faced criticism for slow and confusing communication in the shooting’s aftermath.

After an initial social media post announcing that there had been a shooting with multiple victims, it took nearly five hours for police to provide any additional information to the public, including whether there was any ongoing threat. In the meantime, Wilson announced that two people had been taken into custody, a statement she later retracted.

Assistant Seattle Police Chief Tyrone Davis finally provided an update around 11 p.m. Sunday night during news conference that was also attended by the mayor, Gov. Bob Ferguson and U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal.

Barnes is the second Black police chief in Seattle.

Several Black community organizations, including the Seattle NAACP and the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, rallied to try to save his job Thursday. In an open letter to the mayor’s office, they credited him with improving relations between the department and the community, helping reduce gun violence and strengthening the department’s operations.

“This is the wrong decision at the wrong time and would disrupt Seattle’s progress in public safety,” the letter said. “The tragic fatal shooting at the Bite of Seattle was heartbreaking for our city, but Chief Barnes should not be made a scapegoat for the complex challenges of public safety.”

Civil rights lawyer James Bible was with a small group of Black leaders who met with Wilson early Thursday. Wilson didn’t “tip her hand” regarding whether she’ll fire Barnes but appeared to be considering their argument in favor of keeping him on the job, he said.

“I’m hopeful that she will take a step back and make a different decision for now and then create criteria for any future decisions,” Bible said.

Barnes was appointed by Seattle’s previous mayor, Bruce Harrell, in December 2024 after serving as chief of the Madison, Wisconsin, police department.

When Wilson — a democratic socialist who once supported defunding police — won the mayor’s race last year, she kept Barnes on as chief. That was a signal to the city’s business establishment and community groups that she did not intend to take a radically different approach to public safety.

Wilson came into office with no prior elected or management experience, but with a reputation as someone who thought deeply about social and policy issues. A lingering question was how decisively she would act as mayor.

“She looks weak and vacillating,” Seattle political consultant Sandeep Kaushik said Thursday. “There’s almost 24 hours now where it’s not clear whether the police chief is still the police chief.”

Barnes has faced some criticism for spending time in Chicago, where his family lives. Sgt. Patrick Michaud, a department spokesperson, said Thursday that Barnes has made four trips to Chicago this year and spent in total about 18 days traveling there. Barnes also has traveled to several police executive and recruitment conferences.

Barnes was named as the chief of police in Seattle five days after he was thrust into the national spotlight because of a shooting at a religious school in Wisconsin that killed a teacher and student. At the time, Harrell said Barnes had demonstrated “impressive leadership capabilities” during an investigation into the shooting.

The tension between the mayor and police chief comes as Seattle heads into another big festival weekend. Seafair Weekend Festival 2026 — a boating event, air show and festival — starts Friday.