SEATTLE — Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes has resigned, and Mayor Katie Wilson has appointed Deputy Chief Andre Sayles to serve as interim chief, the mayor’s office announced Thursday afternoon. The abrupt change of leadership comes just days after the mass shooting at Bite of Seattle that left three dead and injured four others.
The Mayor’s Office and Chief Barnes have come under scrutiny in the last week about the communication with reporters and the public Sunday night and in the days following.
In a press release issued just after 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Wilson said she accepted Barnes’ letter of resignation.
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“It has been an honor to serve the Seattle Police Department and this city,” Barnes said in the release. “The men and women of this department show up every single day with professionalism and dedication, and what they did in the aftermath of the Bite of Seattle tragedy reflects the very best of who they are. I am proud of them, and I have deep faith in the future of this department and in the vision for community-based policing that is taking root here. Seattle is committed to building a department that is truly connected to the communities it serves, and I believe in where that work is headed. I hope this transition gives the city and this department the opportunity to return full focus to what matters most, addressing youth gun violence and preventing more tragedies. That work is too important, and Seattle deserves nothing less.”
“Chief Barnes has served this department and this city with dedication, and I am grateful for his service,” Wilson said. “The courage and professionalism that the officers of the Seattle Police Department showed deserve to be honored. I share Chief Barnes’ hope that we can return our focus to addressing youth gun violence and ensuring that every family can feel safe in their neighborhood and across the city.”
Mayor Katie Wilson’s Office then released a video statement on social media Thursday afternoon explaining the “real gaps” that have been uncovered in the city’s communication strategies following the mass shooting at Bite of Seattle on Sunday, July 26.
Wilson explained there had been a series of miscommunications between the SPD and her office that resulted in multiple delays in timely information, including a much-condemned late news conference and failing to use the Seattle Alert system.
“I also know there are real questions about how the city communicated with the public,” Wilson said in the video. “Our after action review of the city’s communications with the public and the media revealed real gaps.”
“Information could and should have gone out much faster through social media, the emergency alert system, the SPD blotter, and/or an offsite press conference,” Wilson continued. “The public should have heard sooner about outstanding suspects and the status of the Seattle Center campus. We will be working with SPD to ensure that communications go out much sooner in the future should anything like this happen again.”
The mayor went on to talk about accepting the resignation of Barnes and thanked him for his service.
Shortly after the mayor’s announcement was released, Barnes’ statement was issued via HKM Employment Attorneys LLP:
“Yesterday, Seattle Police Chief Dr. Shon Barnes met with Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson who requested his resignation. That meeting began a series of private conversations with the mayor’s office that ultimately culminated in Chief Barnes’ decision to offer his voluntary resignation. He believes this is the best path forward for the city, which is still reeling from the shock and pain caused by the tragic events at the Seattle Center.”
“Although Dr. Barnes was surprised by the mayor’s request, he wanted to emphasize his dedication and appreciation to the city, including to the community leaders and the Seattle City Council who have offered their support: ‘The city’s focus should rightfully be on the investigation of the tragic events at the Seattle Center, justice for the victims, and healing the city from a senseless act of gun violence. I want to emphasize that it has been one of the greatest honors to lead the Seattle Police Department and to serve the citizens of the City of Seattle. Thank you to the officers and professional staff of the Seattle Police Department for your tireless work to protect and serve the city we all care about, especially under challenging circumstances. I cannot thank you enough.'”
Seattle City Council reaction
Council President Joy Hollingsworth (District 3), Councilmember Dan Strauss (District 6), Councilmember Debora Juarez (District 5), and Councilmember Bob Kettle (District 7, Public Safety Chair) released a joint statement following Wilson’s announcement:
“Our city faces profound public safety challenges, from youth gun violence destroying lives to drug markets and human trafficking plaguing our neighborhoods. After the Seattle Center shooting, our focus should be on the lives lost and how we can address gun violence in our city. Tackling these crises and creating a safer Seattle requires strong, stable leadership.
“When communities are grieving, major decisions should be made with great deliberation; making a significant leadership change in this moment puts our city in a precarious situation. Having cycled through four police chiefs in just two and a half years, our priority must be stability, not further disruption. The people of Seattle deserve reliable leadership, especially as we close out a busy summer of public events.
“Right now, our focus should be on keeping residents and visitors safe, providing stability and clear leadership, reducing gun violence in Southeast Seattle and ensuring public safety agencies are coordinated and delivering timely alerts and public information.”
“We stand with community members who came forward today to express their support for Chief Barnes and the work he has been doing. We are disappointed to see his departure and thank him for his service.”
In a series of Thursday interviews with KOMO News prior to the official announcement, several Seattle City Council members provided some insider details.
Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth alleged that Barnes was asked to resign and initially declined.
Councilmember Rob Saka said Wilson told him there would be a “transition” in the Chief’s office.
“It’s not a decision I would have made, especially amid a tragedy,” Saka said, referencing the mass shooting at Seattle Center on Sunday. “We’re still in the middle of a crisis.”
Dawn Mason, a former state representative, was among the half dozen people who attended the private meeting with the mayor. She said she couldn’t divulge the specifics of the conversation but did her best to show the mayor that removing the police chief would be a mistake.
“You never make a major decision in the midst of grief, and right now Seattle is grieving and mourning this great loss,” Mason said. “How is she going to hire a new police chief under these circumstances. Who would want to work for the city?”
Police union reaction
The Seattle Police Officers Guild criticized Wilson’s administration following the announcement of Police Chief Shon Barnes’ resignation, arguing that the city should focus on public safety rather than political turmoil.
“Seattle doesn’t need another week of political drama. It needs leadership,” SPOG President Kent Loux said in a statement Thursday.
Loux said the union has repeatedly called for proactive public safety measures following Sunday’s mass shooting at the Bite of Seattle, but contended the mayor’s administration has instead created “confusion, mixed messages, and chaos surrounding Chief Barnes.”
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“Seattle deserves a mayor focused on preventing the next tragedy — not managing the next political crisis,” Loux said. “Unfortunately, Mayor Katie has made it clear that public safety is not her administration’s priority.”
Community reaction and background
A group led by Black community leaders rallied Thursday morning in opposition to Wilson’s reported decision. The rally for Barnes came after just over a year on the job and recent scrutiny over his conduct and his ties to the city after a mass shooting at the “Bite of Seattle” on Sunday.
The group of organizations included Seattle NAACP, Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, Byrd Barr Place, and Community Passageways, among others.
“We are in the heat of the summertime right now. Every summer there is an uptick in violence, and you don’t let go of the leader of the law enforcement agency in the midst of summertime and off the back of a mass shooting. It doesn’t make sense,” said Dominique Davis, the founder and CEO of Community Passageways. “He’s been very engaged in the community. He shows up to community events. We can invite him anywhere.”
Barnes was appointed by Mayor Bruce Harrell in late 2024, and the mayor’s office said he made “substantial contributions to public safety in Seattle.”
On Wednesday evening, Barnes was seen dropping flowers at the Seattle Center vigil in a full police chief uniform, potentially his last public appearance as chief.
A new era seemed to have begun last July when the Seattle Police Department swore in Shon Barnes as Seattle’s 38th police chief. Barnes entered the position on the heels of a scandal from former police chief Adrian Diaz, who was accused of having an affair with a colleague.
Barnes previously served as police chief in Madison, Wisconsin. Madison has about 280,000 residents and employs about 500 sworn officers. In comparison, Seattle has nearly 800,000 residents and 1,000 officers, as of July 2025.
Chosen from a pool of 57 applicants, Barnes, at the time, had identified some of his top goals for the department.
He came in to tackle challenges such as hiring, retention, and rebuilding the department’s approach to community policing.
Barnes also promised quicker response times, stronger patrol presence, and a renewed focus on crime prevention.
In November, after months on the job, Barnes opened up about a tragic event that changed his career path during an episode of KOMO’s Hard Turn podcast.
But all that momentum came to a pause during Sunday’s mass shooting, bringing Barnes’s absence from the scene into the spotlight, amongst other communication failures.
Questions persisted Monday over why the public was not told sooner that police were searching for another armed person, even if investigators did not yet know that person’s identity or whereabouts.
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The tension spilled into a sharp exchange between Barnes and Connor Nash of the South Seattle Emerald, who pressed the chief over the delay and the lack of basic information available to the public.
Barnes defended the department’s focus on securing the scene and searching for the second person. He also acknowledged that the public needs timely information to make decisions about its own safety.
Sayles, who the mayor named interim chief, has more than 20 years of law enforcement experience, including serving as chief of police in Beloit, Wisconsin, according to the mayor’s office. In 2025, Sayles joined the Seattle Police Department as deputy chief of administration and investigations.
The mayor’s office said that under Sayles’ oversight, the department’s Gun Violence Reduction Unit and homicide detectives “have continued to close difficult cases,” including the arrest of a suspect in the fatal shooting of two teenagers near Rainier Beach High School. Wilson said she believes Sayles is the right interim leader “to ensure continuity while we conduct a thorough search for a permanent chief.”
“My vision for public safety in this city is grounded in transparency, trust, and genuine collaboration with the community,” Wilson said. “Keeping people safe requires trust, and trust requires that this department shows up in neighborhoods every day, builds relationships with residents, community organizations, and small businesses, and is accountable to the people it serves.”
Wilson is scheduled to hold a press conference at 11 a.m. Friday at City Hall to introduce Sayles and provide information about the process for selecting a permanent chief.
