SPD Chief: Decision to leave precinct wasn't hers, claims city 'relented to public pressure'
In an address to Seattle police officers, Chief Carmen Best said the decision to leave the East Precinct was not hers, adding that the city “relented to severe public pressure.”
“I want to update you all on the situation at the East Precinct,” Best said. “The decision to board up the precinct, our precinct, our home, the first precinct I worked in, was something I had been holding off. You should know leaving the precinct was not my decision. You fought for days to protect it, I asked you to stand on that line day in and day out, to be pelted with projectiles, to be screamed at, threatened, and in some cases, hurt. Then to have a change of course nearly two weeks in, it seems like an insult to you and our community.”
Best opened her message referring to the Seattle Police Department as her family, and recognizing that this is one of the toughest times in the history of the SPD.
“I know how incredibly difficult these past two weeks have been for you and for your families,” she said. “To thank you will never probably be enough, but thank you.”
https://mynorthwest.com/1937855/chief-best-east-precinct-message-to-officers/
