Seattle police: 2 persons of interest in Bite of Seattle shooting

SEATTLE, Wash. - More than a month after the deadly shooting at the Bite of Seattle, Seattle police say detectives have identified two potential persons of interest and reviewed roughly 450 hours of video as investigators work toward determining who was responsible.

Interim Seattle Police Chief Andre Sayles provided the update in an interview with FOX 13 Seattle, saying detectives are piecing together surveillance video, serving search warrants and working with the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab.

But Sayles emphasized that identifying two people does not mean police have determined they were the shooters.

Police review 450 hours of video

"I can say that we are looking at a potential two persons of interest in this incident, not saying that they are the shooters or anything of that nature, but people that we have identified that we need to have a conversation with," Sayles said.

The interim chief said investigators are now getting closer to putting the evidence together and potentially bringing people in for interviews.

"So we're getting to a point to where we're going to start putting some things together, and our detectives hopefully will be bringing some people in, interviewing, and if it leads to an arrest  that's what we would do," Sayles said.

The investigation remains active, and Sayles did not announce an arrest.

Mayor announces new communication practices

The investigation comes as Mayor Katie Wilson and Sayles work to strengthen communication between the mayor's office and SPD following criticism over the flow of information during the Bite of Seattle shooting.

Wilson recently announced updated public safety communication practices. Some of the measures are already in place, while others have been newly formalized.

The changes include clearer communication roles between SPD and the mayor's office, use of AlertSeattle and social media for critical safety information, pre-event coordination and an expectation that SPD provide a media briefing within an hour of a significant incident when it is safe and feasible.

When asked if the plan was already in place before the Bite of Seattle shooting, Wilson acknowledged that some elements were.

"The public deserves fast, clear communication during emergencies. We fell short of that during the bite of Seattle tragedy, and so we are fixing it," Wilson said. "Some of this is, you know, things that were already in place, but we are basically doing refresher trainings, making sure that everyone appropriate within SPD and in my office knows how we're communicating with each other."

She said other pieces are new, including a more direct line of communication during significant incidents.

"We are ensuring that when there is a significant incident, that I am getting timely updates from the chief through my public safety director," Wilson said.

Wilson said the protocols will also apply to major events, including Bumbershoot.

"So we are putting these protocols in place, making sure that everyone's trained up on them, also making sure that before any major event, my office gets a briefing from SPD so that we know what their staffing plan is and that we mutually know what the point people are. So these these improved protocols will be in place for Bumbershoot this weekend and moving forward."

Mayor won't explain why former chief resigned

Wilson's decision to ask former Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes to resign has been an ongoing unanswered question.

Barnes has publicly said Wilson did not provide him with reasons for the request.

"When I went into the meeting it was to listen and what I heard was that I was going to be asked to resign," Barnes said.

Wilson declined to provide additional details, citing personnel rules.

"So this is a personnel matter, and so I won't be going into specifics on that. I will say that as the mayor, public safety is one of my highest responsibilities. Sometimes that means making decisions that not everyone agrees with, and in making this decision and many other decisions, If it was in my judgment, the best decision for public safety, for our police department, and for our city."

In a letter, Seattle City Council Public Safety Chair Bob Kettle has also asked Wilson to outline why she asked Barnes to resign.

Asked whether she intends to respond to Kettle's letter, Wilson said, "In that process that ended with Chief Barnes' resignation, we followed all appropriate procedures."

When pressed on whether greater transparency could quiet speculation surrounding the decision, Wilson again declined to discuss the personnel matter.

"Again, this is a personnel matter, and so I can't comment further on that," Wilson said.

Wilson instead pointed to the city's search for a permanent chief and her priorities with Sayles during the interim period.

"What I'm really focused on right now is how we move forward, right? And we made an announcement recently about our search for our next permanent police chief. Looking forward to receiving the public's input on what they need to see in Seattle's next permanent chief."

Sayles says SPD operations remain strong

Sayles defended the department's response during the Bite of Seattle shooting, pointing to the speed with which officers took someone into custody.

"I think one of the biggest things is our operational function that we're doing. We're working throughout the police department as our executive command staff team, looking at how we operate. We're doing a fantastic job, and that showed during the Bite of Seattle. Unfortunately, it was an unfortunate situation. Officers responded and took someone into custody within 20 to 30 seconds. Sometimes it's unheard of."

At the same time, Sayles said SPD still needs to work on officer morale and staffing.

"So the operations are strong, but we can always build on that. The morale of our officers. I've been doing roll call check-ins with all of our officers, making sure that they understand who I am and putting my face with my name, and understanding that we are going to back them, making sure that they are taken care of, and we are putting efforts into getting the staffing numbers."

Sayles said the department currently has thousands of applicants in the hiring pipeline.

"You look at our staffing numbers right now. We have about 3,500 applications in the queue, so that means people want to work for our police department."

He also pointed to the number of students currently moving through police training. 

"We have about 200 or so students in between our pre-BLEA (Basic Law Enforcement Academy) and our post-BLEA, so we have a stable of officers that's going to be available for us that'll make our operations strong."

SPD hiring incentive ends

The department's hiring incentive was another point of discussion.

Sayles said ending the incentive was a collective decision made over the previous several months.

"I think that was a collective effort throughout the last couple months within SPD, but I'm the interim chief now, so I will take on that ownership, and I will say that I'm the one that allowed that to happen," Sayles said, as the incentives are officially gone as of September 1.

He also left open the possibility of bringing the incentive back.

"But we're looking at ways to potentially bring that back," Sayles said.

The Seattle Police Officers Guild president has criticized the decision, calling it a "backward approach" that "does not improve public safety" or give SPD a competitive advantage as other departments maintain or increase incentives.

Wilson pushed back on that criticism.

"If I could jump in here, I'll just say that the facts don't bear that out, right? As interim Chief Sayles mentioned, we have 3,500 officers who applied to work at SPD."

Wilson also said the department has hired more than 100 officers this year and identified training as the department's current bottleneck.

"We've hired over 100 officers this year. Like people want to work for this department. Our real bottleneck right now is in training, and interim Chief Sayles has some good ideas about how we address that bottleneck," Wilson said.

Wilson confirms SPD budget cuts are coming

Wilson also confirmed that SPD will face reductions in her upcoming budget proposal.

Asked directly whether that meant cuts to SPD's budget, Wilson answered:

"Budget will be out soon, but you know yes, you will see some reductions to SPD's budget."

Wilson said the overall dollar amount for SPD is still expected to increase significantly, in part because of a police contract that increased officer pay.

"The actual overall budget will go up significantly. There was a, you know, police contract that was signed last year that greatly increases officer pay. That's part of the reason why we've been so successful at hiring, and so you will see a budget next year that is significantly higher than the dollar amount that you spent this year," Wilson said.

Wilson said public safety remains a priority while the city deals with a broader budget deficit.

"Public safety is an extremely high priority for me in my office, and also I have a duty to the fiscal health of the city, and we have a large budget deficit," Wilson said.

She said the city is looking for ways to reduce spending without cutting core services and said she wants to continue adding officers to the streets.

"I will say that SPD has come forward with some ways that we can save some money, and it is a priority for me that we are continuing to add officers to the street next year, and that we are making cuts in ways that do not impact the services that the city is able to provide for our residents," Wilson said.

Mayor brushes off recall push

Wilson is also facing political pressure from groups seeking to recall her over public safety concerns.

A local recall petition was previously dismissed. When asked about Youth Peace and Justice Foundation's push to move forward with a recall effort citing public safety concerns, Wilson said she is not focused on it unless something is formally filed.

"When something's filed, I'll pay attention. But till then, it's not something I'm paying attention to."

Sayles hasn't ruled out becoming permanent chief

With Seattle now searching for a permanent police chief, Sayles was asked whether he wants the job.

He has not made a final decision.

"When you look at the great opportunity that the Seattle Police Department offers you, who wouldn't want to be the chief of police here?" Sayles said.

Sayles said he still needs to discuss the decision with his family.

"It's a decision that I haven't fully come to yet. There's some things I have to look at and talk about with my family to make sure that this is the right decision," Sayles said.

Sayles was also careful to emphasize that his focus is on the department rather than his own career.

"One thing I would want to emphasize is it's not about me; it's about the we, and that we is the Seattle Police Department."

He said his priorities include police operations, officer morale and communication with the mayor's office.

"So I don't want to make this about me; it's about the things that we want to do moving forward as a police department, with our operations, the morale of our police officers, to strengthen communication with the mayor's office, and making sure that we set this police department on a blazing path forward, so that for whomever may be the permanent chief here has a police department that is moving to the North Star," Sayles said.

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