Mayor Harrell hires firm to investigate sexual harassment claims against SPD leaders

SEATTLE - Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell hired a firm to investigate sexual discrimination and harassment claims against leaders of the Seattle Police Department (SPD), including Chief Adrian Diaz.

Harrell’s decision comes five days after four female SPD officers filed a tort claim against the department, alleging sexism and a hostile work environment.

Officer Kame Spencer, Judinna Gulpan, Valerie Carson, and Lauren Truscott filed a claim of damages against the city on Friday, asking for $5 million in recompense. The tort alleges the perpetrators of the "grooming" and harassment are Police Chief Adrian Diaz, Lt. John O'Neil, and SPD's human resource manager, Rebecca McKechnie. Attorney, Sumeer Singla is representing the four women. He hopes the mayor's intentions are pure, but believes the true impetus for this investigation is four days of negative press.

"This seems more like damage control than the honest brokering of an investigation," said Singla. "Why did it take four women to come forward to finally call for an investigation when the mayor knew about this issue for the last six months?"

On Tuesday, Harrell sent a letter to Seattle City Council President Sara Nelson and Public Safety Chair Bob Kettle announcing his decision and explaining how commissioning an external and independent review of these claims is essential to maintaining public trust.

In his letter, he mentioned how other similar claims alleging gender discrimination within the police department had been filed over the past year. A number of these claims have been investigated by groups such as the Seattle Office of Police Accountability, the Seattle Office of Inspector General for Public Safety, the SPD’s Equal Employment Opportunity Office, the Seattle Department of Human Resources, and external investigators.

"As mayor, I am laser-focused on identifying patterns of institutional issues like racism and gender discrimination throughout Seattle, including in our own institutions, recognizing that changing systemic practices requires commitment and a high level of intentionality." Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell

Mayor Harrell announced he would hire Marcella Fleming Reed of MFR Associates, an expert in investigating workplace harassment and discrimination claims, to lead the review.

She will be asked to determine if these recent claims were thoroughly handled and whether the findings were supported by evidence.

"It is important for our city to take allegations of harassment and discrimination seriously," said Mayor Bruce Harrell. "We will not malign those who come forward and, to the contrary, will give these claims the close attention they deserve. Our goal is to understand the implications of these allegations and take actions as appropriate."

Responding to concerns of exclusion, discrimination and double standards for women working at SPD, the Mayor promised to assign someone from his office to investigate culture within the department back in February. According to the Mayor's office, that embed was not transferred over to the department until April. They are collecting information right now and will continue to do so in tandem with the independent investigation:

"The employee has been tasked with working with SPD’s "women in policing" team to address concerns raised in the 30x30 report and advancing our mission to build an inclusive and representative police service. She has also been tasked with driving reforms relating to SPD’s Investigations Bureau."

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