Seattle council grills SPD over 5-hour delay in Bite of Seattle briefing

SEATTLE - Leaders from the Seattle Police Department faced tough questions from the Seattle City Council’s Public Safety Committee over communication delays following the fatal Bite of Seattle shooting.

The major topic of discussion was why it took over five hours to brief the public with critical information after the July 26 shooting, which left three people dead and four others hurt.

Deputy mayor delayed Bite of Seattle shooting briefing

What they're saying:

Assistant Chief Tyrone Davis, who was in charge of SPD on the weekend of the shooting, said he was ready to release information to the public as early as 7:30 p.m. that night, which was about an hour and half after the shooting took place.

However, Davis told councilmembers that he was blocked from speaking by Deputy Mayor Brian Surratt, who is second in charge below Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson.

"By 7:30, I was ready to brief the press and I was delayed," Davis said. "I did talk to the Deputy Mayor, just to kind of let him know as a courtesy, we're going to go down and conduct the interview and then, I was told we needed to wait for the mayor."

During a press conference days after the Bite of Seattle shooting, Mayor Wilson denied that her office had delayed police in holding the press conference. But recently released texts from SPD personnel and internal emails from the department said otherwise.

Now, Davis has confirmed the cause of the delay directly to councilmembers.

"Offered a second alternative, which is that we do the presser now, and then maybe do another one when the mayor gets here and any of the other officials get here before the 10 o'clock news and I was also asked to wait," Davis said.

During that five-hour delay, there was little public information regarding the shooting. Seattle police had initially posted to social media confirming a shooting happened at Seattle Center. Mayor Wilson later posted a statement that contained misinformation, saying two suspects were in custody.

"I will tell you this right now. What I shared in that 20-minute press conference at 11 o'clock, would've been the same exact information I would've provided at 7:30. Nothing changed," Davis said.

The mayor has taken the blame for delays later in evening, but never spoke on the involvement of the deputy mayor earlier that night.

What we know:

Incident commanders experienced negative impacts due to personnel who were not present at the scene, according to an after-action report. Additionally, officers were stretched thin across multiple events, including the Seafair Torchlight Parade.

Mayor Katie Wilson's office requested an Office of Inspector General review regarding the incident response. Councilmember Debora Juarez questioned the delay during a meeting, stating, "I don't think we need an investigation. I think you could tell us right now why there was a five-hour delay and I think the mayor should have said it on July 26 and every other press conference afterwards. Because we're hearing conflicting stories that the press conference was upheld, was told to stand down, until dignitaries arrived."

"You and I both know what's happening here, it's a political question. We're concerned about public safety right now and that's what were focused on," said mayoral public safety director Alison Holcomb.

"Well, I disagree. I don't think it's a political question," Juarez said.

Another question pressed by councilmembers was whether a second suspect was still on the loose.

"Is there a killer on the loose? Yes or no," asked Councilmember Rob Saka.

"Speaking with my detectives this morning, we're combing through some warrants and looking at some things. We still have to comb through some video, surveillance that was there. I can't say yes or no. There is a possibility," Davis said.

Seattle police officers took 20 to 30 seconds to take the shooter into custody after receiving the initial call. But SPD interim chief Andre Sayles previously said they have identified two potential persons of interest after reviewing 450 hours of video.

What we don't know:

City officials have not released details regarding a possible suspect who reportedly fled the scene. Furthermore, the mayor's office remains ambiguous about the exact reasons behind firing former Police Chief Shon Barnes during the investigation.

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