By Carolyn Bick
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Andre Sayles, Interim Chief of the Seattle Police Department, stands at the podium during a July 31, 2026 news conference. Image from Seattle Channel
Mayor Katie Wilson confirmed at a July 31 news conference that she asked Shon Barnes to resign as chief of the Seattle Police Department (SPD) the day before. This follows widespread scrutiny and pushback regarding how the department handled the shooting at the Bite of Seattle on July 26 that left three dead and four wounded, including a 2-year-old boy. Former Mayor Bruce Harrell appointed Barnes to the position in early 2025.
Replacing Barnes is Andre Sayles, who joined SPD in 2025. Prior to that, he served as chief of police in Beloit, Wisconsin. He confirmed in the news conference that he and Barnes were and remain friends. Deputy Chief Yvonne Underwood, who has worked for SPD since 1997, will be leading alongside Sayles.
Sayles promised that the department would increase its staffing at major events for the rest of the summer.
“The department is currently reviewing staffing plans for all other upcoming events, as well as will ensure we have an appropriate number of officers on hand. While SPD does not discuss specific staffing numbers at events, you can be assured that the busy events that’s occurring this weekend will be fully staffed,” he said. “You will see an increase of foot patrol officers, bike officers, poet officers, which is our police outreach engagement team officers, and other units from the police department.”
He also clarified that the police are looking for multiple suspects, but did not release further details. He said that police appeared to be close to making an arrest, but that he did not want the police to be in the position of arresting the wrong people.
“Constant turnover in police leadership”
For Tony Au, a Chinatown–International District (CID) community leader, Barnes’ resignation “marks a significant transition for the Seattle Police Department.”
“Regardless of leadership changes, my primary concern remains public safety for all Seattle residents, especially in the Chinatown–International District and other neighborhoods that continue to face challenges with crime, open drug activity, and public disorder,” he told the Northwest Asian Weekly in an email. “I hope the City will appoint a leader who is committed to community policing, strong partnerships with neighborhood organizations, and accountability. Our community needs consistent collaboration between SPD, businesses, residents, and community leaders to restore public safety and rebuild trust.”
Sayles will be the department’s 10th police chief within the last 26 years. Seattle’s mayors have asked the city’s last two chiefs, including Barnes, to resign.
“It feels like we are all experiencing whiplash from the constant turnover in police leadership. It seems like every year, we’re facing another change at the top, and that instability hurts everyone,” said former city councilmember Tanya Woo, whose husband co-runs Kau Kau BBQ Restaurant on King Street in the CID. “It’s difficult to build trust, improve morale, recruit new officers, or implement long-term public safety strategies when leadership is continually changing.”
Every time a turnover happens in police department leadership, she continued, the new police chief has to get up to speed with the neighborhood’s concerns.
“For neighborhoods like the CID, this instability has real consequences. Nowhere is that more evident than at 12th and Jackson, where residents, businesses, and community organizations have been asking for sustained attention to open-air drug activity, and ongoing public safety concerns,” she said. “Progress at 12th and Jackson requires consistent leadership, coordinated enforcement, and strong partnerships between the Police Department, city agencies, and the community. Every leadership transition disrupts that momentum, delaying long-term solutions, and forcing the community to start over.”
Regular absences, public clashes
Wilson said that there were “multiple factors” that went into her decision to let Barnes go. Contributing to her decision may also have been Barnes’ regular absences from the city, including on the night of the shooting, as well as the public confrontation Barnes had with a South Seattle Emerald reporter that mirrored his interview with a Tone Madison reporter about 18 months prior.
Wilson said that the city would immediately begin the search for a new police chief “with urgency,” and outlined some of the criteria she would be looking for. The criteria appeared to include several traits Barnes did not display during his time as chief, including “someone who is consistently present in Seattle, keeping travel to an appropriate minimum.”
Wilson said she would also be looking for someone who would listen to and build respectful relationships with the rest of the department and the public, and who can “practice clear communication in stressful situations,” help to coordinate the right response teams for any given situation, and ensure that “there is sufficient SPD leadership in town to guide our city through any emergency” if they are away.
“I will be looking for someone who can navigate the inevitable criticism that comes with this job and who can course correct with grace when needed,” she said. “And I will be looking for a chief who moves in strong partnership with our accountability agencies to ensure effective policing in our city and active pathways for community feedback and input into how SPD approaches its work.”
She also said that the people of Seattle would be an active part of choosing the new police chief, signalling a key departure from her predecessor, Harrell, who chose Barnes without any public input.
“It is a rigorous process with multiple layers of accountability, and that is exactly as it should be. For one of the most consequential appointments a mayor can make, what the charter requires is a floor, not a ceiling. And I’m committed to making sure that the people of Seattle have a genuine voice in shaping what we are looking for in our next chief, and we will build real community engagement into every stage of this search,” she said. “As we move forward, we will be announcing a search committee that reflects the full diversity of Seattle, bringing together voices and stakeholders from across our neighborhoods and communities.”
In response to a question about how the city will ensure it includes historically marginalized neighborhoods, specifically the CID, in what could be a short timeframe for public input on a new police chief, Wilson said that the city is working on a plan that it will soon share with the public.
Ongoing fallout
In response to questions regarding criticism by some on the current Seattle City Council regarding their faith in her leadership and her decision to remove Barnes, Wilson said at the news conference that while she understands and respects her city council colleagues’ differences of opinion, “as the executive of the city, I do have a different window into our police department than they do.
“I’m confident that as we move forward with our search for a permanent chief, we will be able to come together because I really think that we want the same thing for our city,” she said. “And I think we’re looking for a lot of the same qualities in a leader for this department. I am making what I firmly believe is the right decision at the right time.”
She also fielded several questions about whether she had directed staff and police not to share information with the public and reporters. Wilson said that she did not direct staff or the police not to release information, and that she did not even learn about the news conference planned for that evening until five minutes before it happened. She said that she and her administration were similarly in the dark on details.
Reporters also questioned why the department had not yet released a description of the at-large suspects.
“It is paramount that we get the correct person,” he responded. “I do not want our police department to be put in a bad situation where we’re arresting the wrong person. I wish I could give you that information right now, but for the integrity of that investigation, we want to keep that close to the vest right now and make sure our detectives have the best angle to take that person into custody. We’re going to get there and that’s what we’re doing.”
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