Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes was relieved of his duties by Mayor Katie Wilson on Wednesday, days after the department came under scrutiny over its response to the deadly Bite of Seattle mass shooting.Barnes was asked to resign following a meeting with the mayor after attending a silent vigil for the shooting victims, FOX 13 Seattle reported citing multiple sources.The report said Barnes later began informing people via text messages that he had been dismissed.Barnes had been scheduled to sit down for one-on-one interviews with Seattle media on Wednesday, but those appearances were canceled shortly before the reported meeting with Wilson.
Why was Shon Barnes removed?
The reported decision comes after widespread criticism of the Seattle Police Department’s handling of the Bite of Seattle shooting.On Sunday, a mass shooting at the Seattle Center during the annual food festival left three people dead and several others injured. Barnes was out of town at the time, attending the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) conference in Dallas.The police department waited several hours before holding its first media briefing on the shooting. Assistant Chief Tyrone Davis led the briefing, while Barnes was absent. He returned to Seattle and appeared alongside Mayor Katie Wilson at a press conference the following morning.After that briefing, Barnes was involved in a tense exchange with a reporter who questioned his absence from the city during the shooting and reports that he was frequently away from Seattle.
Who is Shon Barnes?
Barnes was appointed Seattle police chief in 2024 by then-Mayor Bruce Harrell and officially took charge in 2025, succeeding interim chief Sue Rahr.Before moving to Seattle, he served as chief of the Madison Police Department in Wisconsin. Earlier in his career, Barnes held senior law enforcement positions in Chicago, Salisbury, North Carolina, and Greensboro, North Carolina.During his tenure in Madison, the department reported declines in violent and property crime while increasing the representation of women officers.
Barnes’ policing strategy in Seattle
After taking office, Barnes introduced what he called “Seattle-Centric Policing,” a data-driven strategy aimed at tackling neighbourhood-specific crime trends, including gun violence and property crime.The initiative focused on coordination between police, local government, businesses, schools and community groups. Barnes also launched a community policing pilot programme that assigned dedicated pairs of officers to specific neighbourhoods and held public forums to discuss safety concerns across the city.