S1E20: Adrian Diaz - Love Letters, Lawsuits, and Leadership Meltdowns at Seattle PD [VIDEO]

Seattle’s Office of Inspector General has released a long-awaited trove of documents undergirding the investigation that led Mayor Bruce Harrell to fire then-Seattle police chief Adrian Diaz for dishonesty in December of 2024. Today, let's dive into the history of SPD leadership in the aftermath of the George Floyd protests in 2020 to present times. Spoiler: heaps of lawsuits, corruption, and fakes jobs for your mistress – and a huge mess for city hall to clean up. We talk a little bit about the plight of SPD beat cops, and the measures city governments take to hold their employees accountable. Support our work, find our links, and join our community!Sources:wrongful termination lawsuit against the City of Seattle and Mayor Bruce HarrellOIG investigationTompkins' $3 million complaintinitial misconduct investigationsupporting documentsDiaz filed a complaint Diaz was terminated on December 17, 2024Image Source: KUOWSeptember 2020SPD was also jugglingDiaz met Tompkins as a news anchor in the Seattle areaTompkins' hiring causing a huge commotion across the departmentOver 20 SPD officers spoke to KUOW anonymously Seattle's policy on supervisor-employee relationships statesmayor’s office did not initially believe the rumors were enough cause to investigate Diaz Diaz continued to accuse his top commanders of leaking rumorsclearly abused his power beyond creating a hush culturemore lawsuits came out from several female SPD officersOn May 29, 2024Diaz then went on 770 KTTH and boldly stated that he was a gay manDiaz denied the love letter handwriting analysisDiaz filed a lawsuit on October 11deputy mayor Tim BurgessTompkins eventually resignedfired Diaz on December 17, 2024November 20, 2024Harrel cite Diaz's affair as reason for dismissalInspector general published their reportletter embedded in news articlescheduled to enter mediation talksallegedly refused to prematurely fireJaahnavi KandulaSPD officer Kevin Dave on January 23, 2023Auderer describes Kandula’s liferoutine footage review by an SPD employeewould not press criminal charges against Kevin Daveone OPA spokesperson with CNNfired Auderer and shared her reasoningAuderer filed a $20 million complaint against the City of SeattleThe Causes of Action: Diaz outlines the following in his lawsuitSeattle Accountability OrdinanceSeattle Municipal Code Chapter 3.29RCW 49.60.210Silenced No More Actmunicipal codeInspector General Lisa JudgePRAdefamation per seWage Rebate ActSeattle’s Wage Theft OrdinanceGWP is a Hemmat Interactive, Inc. production.