Emails reveal Jamie Tompkins fought rumors of affair with Seattle police Chief Diaz
SEATTLE - Internal Seattle Police Department emails indicate that former Chief of Staff Jamie Tompkins spent more than a year trying to clear her name amid rumors she was having an affair with her boss, Seattle police Chief Adrian Diaz.
Both Tompkins and Diaz deny any romantic relationship.
Diaz has been married to a woman for 20 years but came out as gay in June during an interview with radio host Jason Rantz.
Among other things, the emails and city documents obtained by FOX 13 Seattle indicate that other police officers were accused of stalking Tompkins and allegedly asked media outlets to report on the alleged affair even before Tompkins began working at SPD in June 2023.
Tompkins told city officials she feared for her physical safety, according to an email dated May 4.
She says she was told uniformed officers were surveilling her at home. As a result, she moved to a new address and told the city that she paid for two homes simultaneously for a period of five months.
Tompkins also described enduring a hostile work environment and sexual harassment inside SPD headquarters and made numerous requests for assistance in resolving the issues.
What do the emails say?
In June 2024, Tompkins wrote an email to the city’s Office of Inspector General and SPD’s human resources department. OIG is a separate city department that oversees any complaints against the chief of police.
"I overheard two employees engaging in conversation speculating on whether the chief had engaged in sexual relations with me, followed by inappropriate remarks suggesting a desire to engage in sexual activity with me due to my physical appearance," Tompkins wrote.
In the same email, Tompkins asked why nobody from the city, or the police department had requested to speak with her.
By then, internal rumors of an affair had been circulating for more than a year.
"It is worth noting, this false allegation was launched one year ago, and I have never been notified by any official party," Tompkins wrote.
Tompkins said the city’s inaction to address the false allegations took a severe toll on her physical and emotional health.
"I want to make it crystal clear — it is utterly baseless and without merit. Failing to include my voice in any way over this matter, even though the focus of your investigation pertains to my personal body, is a clear attempt to evade accountability," Tompkins wrote.
Tompkins seeks protection order
A month before the email requesting the OIG interview her, Tompkins wrote to SPD leadership requesting a work protection order from Officer Valerie Carson.
In the May 4 email to SPD leadership and human resources, Tompkins wrote:
"[Carson] began obsessively documenting her feelings about me. Officer Carson began this disturbing activity months before my employment began at SPD and long before she ever met me in person."
In the same email, Tompkins told SPD leadership and human resources, "It is documented in EEO that Officer Carson and other employees actively discussed where I live and what car I drive."
SPD denied Tompkins’ request for protection, claiming there wasn’t enough evidence that Carson would hurt Tompkins.
The Office of Police Accountability investigated Carson for allegedly spreading rumors about the alleged affair between Tompkins and Diaz. The investigation was closed as "unfounded" and "inconclusive."
The OPA report said Carson admitted to talking about the rumor but concluded there was insufficient evidence that Carson "initiated or propagated it." OPA determined it could not hold a single person accountable for a "pervasive rumor."
Tompkins claims retaliation from officers refusing to change
Valerie Carson is one of four female officers who have filed a $5 million lawsuit against Diaz and Lt. John O’Neil, a veteran officer who took several leadership roles under Diaz.
Carson alleged in the lawsuit that she felt like Diaz wanted to have a romantic relationship with her, but most of the allegations in the women’s lawsuit were against O’Neil, saying Diaz supported O’Neil’s behavior.
Together, the four female officers have filed nine separate complaints against O’Neil since 2022, alleging sexual harassment, racism and gender discrimination. However, a FOX 13 Seattle review of hundreds of pages of documents found that each complaint that was investigated against O’Neil came back either not sustained or determining the "facts" did not back up the accusations.
O’Neil is a 20-year veteran of the department and had a clean record until these complaints began. He alleges retaliation for working in a leadership role alongside Diaz to implement workplace culture changes at SPD.
Tompkins noted this as well, in a March letter to OIG and OPA, saying Diaz was trying to bring "significant and necessary cultural transformations within the department."
Citing "distractions" from the women’s lawsuit, Mayor Bruce Harrell demoted Diaz from chief in May and assigned him to special projects.
In October, Diaz and Tompkins were placed on paid leave.
Tompkins resigned her position in November, and Diaz was fired from the SPD on Dec. 17.
The mayor cited four areas of SPD policy where Diaz acted inconsistently: dishonesty, professionalism, conflicts of interest and improper personal relationships.
‘I hope I always know your kiss’
In the end, the evidence from the OIG for Harrell to dismiss Diaz focused on an anonymous birthday card addressed to "AZD," Diaz’s initials. It became the centerpiece of a 41-page investigation released Tuesday in conjunction with Diaz’s firing.
Diaz told investigators the letter was either a joke or intended to frame him.
The OIG report stated that the card was found on or around May 27, 2023, but Diaz claims he was only shown the card by investigators 14 months after it was turned in.
The OIG report also stated the card was discovered in an SPD vehicle assigned to one of Diaz’s personnel protection detail, a dedicated team of security personnel assigned to safeguard him.
The card read:
In August, investigators requested Tompkins give a handwriting sample to OIG. A week later, she received an email saying the person who administered it "did not collect the writing sample correctly, and we will need to do it again."
Tompkins consented to give a second handwriting sample, and after that, the final OIG report claimed it was "highly probable" the message matched Tompkins’ penmanship.
Diaz further requested a fingerprint sample, but investigators said too many people had handled the note. However, the OIG report does not indicate who had custody of the note during the 14-month period before Diaz claims he was first questioned about it.
The OIG report also does not identify the bodyguard who claims they found the card inside their work vehicle.
Diaz filed a $10 million tort claim against Mayor Harrell and the city in October, after he was put on paid leave, and before he was fired. It read, in part:
"The city wrongfully discharged and discriminated, harassed and retaliated against former Chief Diaz when he expressed his sexual orientation to Mayor Harrell and Deputy Mayor Burgess."
Before joining Diaz’s staff at SPD in June 2023, Tompkins was a news anchor at FOX 13 Seattle.
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